When The Jasmine Flowers
by Sparrowfeathers
Summary: The Akatsuki, the S-rank criminal gang, never really cared for anyone except for themselves. But when Konan finds a baby, they find their lives turned upside down with the new arrival and the prospect of parenting. Would the Akatsuki successfully raise another heartless killer, lose even more sanity, or would they finally learn the true meaning of family?
1. Beneath the Jasmine

***Author's note below.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto shippuden. Masashi Kishimoto owns it, not me, Okay? So don't sue me, I'm just another poor student who owns nothing, even her textbooks.**

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**When The Jasmine Flowers**

**Chapter 1**

**Beneath the Jasmine**

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_..oo0oo.._

_To fulfil what your heart desires, what would you be willing to let go?_

_Your most precious things, which you had just taken as granted; love ones, friends.. Letting them all go just for your own selfish desires.._

_To lose what had actually meant the most to you.._

_For such a high price, are you still willing to fulfil your wishes? _

_..oo0oo.._

Water.

Tiny, clear as crystals, clean drops falling from the once bright blue sky, many, many, many heads above her seemingly insignificant small skull. That was the first thing she noticed when she open her eyes. Bucket after bucket of sky juice, pouring down on her unfortunately unprotected head.

_ Plip plop plip plop._

That was the first sound she heard upon awakening, soft pattering of fallen droplets falling to the ground, strangely rhythmic, as if Kami-sama himself was trying to create a new tune, slowly but surely, washing the earth from all of it's shameful and ugly stains.

Touch, she felt it.

As though hundreds and thousands of smooth river rocks were falling on her soft pale skin, before breaking into a million microscopic pieces, hurting her. So unlike the soft gentle strokes she was used to.

Flashes, roars, booms.

The quick as thought lightning, cackling gleefully, flashing boastfully across the dark grey sky, illuminating it's blinding white light, lighting the entire forest for just a minuscule of a second. The ever furious wind, roaring seemingly-bull like at everyone as it race past, like an unbroken mustang, disappearing as fast as it appeared, the only tell tale sign that it was there were a few leafless branches and a few badly shaken small mammals. Thundering thunder, stomping and shouting, announcing it's very presence with a loud and clear boom, terrifying wildlife with it's all-out temper tantrum, for being so much slower that it's brother, lightning.

Cold and dark, so cold and dark...

Was this... Rain?

Another flashed of lightning followed by the resounding loud boom. She whimpered pitifully as she tried to hid herself under her pitiful excuse of a blanket, soiled and wet.

Yes, it was rain.

Here she was, a babe, barely even a fortnight old, having to withstand the worst storm of the decade. And all she had was nothing more than a thin blanket, underneath it was bare skin.

OK, hold on here, what did she do to be left out in the rain? As far as she could remember, nothing. After all, she was just a baby, what cruel person would do such a thing to something as innocent as a baby?

A moron? Maybe an idiot? Or perhaps, A fool?

Possibly not, no one will be that dumb to leave a baby out here in the dangerous woods, all by itself. Unless of course, they suffer from mental retardation. And therefore need to be given proper medical attention along with keeping it at least 50 feet away from any young child

The person had done it intentionally, didn't he?

This guy(or girl) left her, a defenceless infant, here on purpose, before going on their own sick and merry way without a single shred of guilt found in their concious?

Man, those people were sickos.

If her parents ever found out... Those buffoons would be so dead...

Hey, wait a minute, where were her parents?

Squinting hard, she mustered all her energy and looked hopefully to her left, then to her right, before looking to her left again. All she saw was vegetation and mud. She tried wailing as loud as she could, beating her fist against the ground, which miserably failed against the storm. Nope, no parents. No mummy or daddy.

She felt herself almost exploding with tears, she was tired and wet and cold, not to mention hungry. Where were her freaking parents? Weren't babies suppose to be some kind of joyous blessing sent from heaven by Kami-sama? Weren't he parents happy that she was born? Didn't they want her? Did they regret her existence? Was she even wanted? Was her entire short life nothing but some kind of cruel joke, a lie?

Why was she living then, her entire life was a mistake, the unwanted child that no one wanted, which was exactly why she was here, answering most of her questions.

Yet, despite all this, she continued to wail at the top of her little lungs, face flushed, contrasting with her pale skin. She was determined not to die here, all alone in the middle of some forest.

She wanted to have at least lived a life first before going to the other side, she wanted to know how it was like to talk, to walk, to cry when life just seem to hit it hard on her, to laugh when the sun shone, to have friends, it didn't really matter whether there many, as long as she had few good ones, to love, and to be loved. She wanted to lived, dammit. She wanted to live a life that she would possibly never, ever get.

The babe hoped and prayed with her whole heart to all the gods out there, to be given a chance to have a life before leaving this scene of time.

_..oo0oo.._

The solitary jasmine tree stood conspicuously tall. Majestically crowned with a glorious array of new-season leaves, which danced above the forest's canopy and glistened in the moonlit night, the lower portion of the towering tree revealed a trunk as firm and smooth as a young warrior's muscular form. A firm buttress system made this tree of trees immovable. Standing almost four hundred feet tall, it was the tallest tree in the forest.

No one knew how old it was because it was already there when animal life in the forest began. More mysterious still, no one understands why it shed its leaves when the other trees are evergreen. The tree did not flower often, maybe once every 10 years? It's flowers were considered to be extremely strange, unlike it's usual white coloured cousin, it was a beautiful violet-like indigo colour, and could be use for many medical purposes. It's fragrance always spread across the whole forest, enchancing it even more. The birds were livelier, noisier, the animals seemed more cheerful, flowers bloom here and there, decorating the forest floor with colours. It seemed as though the whole forest was celabrating this special season. The season of the blue Jasmine. The season of a new era.

But that was a hundred years ago. And life as the forest had knew it, had change.

The Jasmine tree still stood there, but somehow, thanks to the swelling human population, it seemed to be shrinking smaller and smaller every day. More and more flora and fauna were vanishing each month, more of the waters were geting poluted, trees were burned down. A depressing cloud had swept across the entire land. And the jungle itself looked as though it was holding it's breath for something terrible to happen.

A gust of wind stirred an oversized beehive that was dangling dizzily from a weatherworn branch of the Jasmine tree, as it carried the sound of an animal's awesome roar over the topof the lower plants and cascaded into the lowlands, where it dissipated among the dark and dense undergrowth. Roar after roar and this went on for some time. Then the forest was silent, hauntingly.

The fireflies floated effortlessly in the warm, humid air, their luminous bodies appeared to dance tempestuosly over the crystal clear water, their bright yellowish reflections creating a dazzling display. The cicadas and the crikets that provided much of the background music in the forest had ceased. The night forrest was like a tombstone, so quite till you sould feel the uneasiness hugging you lke a straight jacket.

Almost instantly, as if on cue, the sky burst in a display of celestial tantrum. Suddenly the scene change, and rain started to pour down, drizzles at first, but turned into a downpour soon after. Lightning flashed across the imposing darkness. Heavy, dark clouds blocked out the shinning moon. Nature's power lit up the sky and the earth intermittenly.

The forest flitted between light and darkness and shook to the continual claps of loud thunder. The sky fumed, at the earth below and pelted the trees below with fierce rain. The trees swayed in the wind and shook to claps of thunder. Sheet after sheet of lightning painted the dark sky with an electrifying whiteness and lit up the forest. The sound of the ear-shattering thunder rocked the forest and terrified the fleeing animals. The storm hit hard with vengance, for the creatures below had not heeded it's warning signs. Leaves were flying everywhere, like a flock of scared tropical birds.

Konan winced and squeezed her eyes shut, just when another flash of bright light sped past her, lighting the dark grey sky, before the usual resounding 'boom' casually followed behind. Carefully peeking open one of her bright orange eye, opening the other when she deemed safe. You would have thought, that as an Amegukere native, she would probably have gotten used to all the rain and lightning and thunder and all those other stuff, but truth be told, Konan never really liked the rain. Yes, she may be a kunoichi from said village, but that had never meant she had to get used to all these things. Rain, to her was an extremely troublesome thing. Yes, they provided all the living-things on earth with the water we oh-so-dearly need. But seriously, it made the ground soft and lumpy, made the sand muddy, had all those annoying droplets which just loved to annoy her by landing on her unsuspecting head, messing up her hair and her beloved origami flower. And as for lightning, oh don't even get her started on that subject. One day, she swore, lightning would be the death of her.

Swiftly wiping of a few stray droplets from her face with the back of her hand, she frowned upon noticing how dirty her hands were, not to mention that her nails looking as though some kind of rabid hamster had attacked them, with dried up blood squashed in between her flesh and nails, the slightly metallic smell invading her nostrils, causing her nose to wrinkle in disgust.

Figuring that the faster she travelled, the faster she'll reach back home to clean all the filth out of her hair and if she was lucky, Pein might be there too. The past few days had been hectic, they had finally won the war against that accursed Hanzo, and Pein (well, his other bodies were travelling, Nagato really shouldn't be pushing himself so much) was currently travelling all over the rain country, making sure that all the rebels and pro-Hanzo villagers/ninjas were gone, at least for now. Her heart soared triumphantly as she thought again about that man who had sacrifice the life of Yahiko just for his own personal gain, he was gone, finally gone. Though a flicker of sadness sparked somewhere deep inside of her, knowing that no matter how many times they killed Hanzo, Yahiko would still never return. Until this day, she could still feel the pain of losing Yahiko, hurting her day by day, silently killing her. It was a wound that would never heal. Flesh wounds, though more noticeable, took a shorter time compared to it's unseen inner cousin.

_Crack!_

Konan was immediately woken up from her inner thoughts when a weather worn branch of a near-by tree landed in front of her (another poor victim of hat accursed lightning, if you asked her), missing her by mere millimetres. She shook her head frantically, willing herself to be get over the shock, she had to stop having all these zone out sessions. How highly distracting they were, and how it prevented her from getting home any sooner.

Looking forward for a nice long hot bath, a chat with her childhood friend, along with a warm meal waiting to be heated up in the fridge, she quickened her pace, just when it suddenly hit her.

Did she just called the Akatsuki base her home?

No. Just No. No way was that filthy base her home. Home is not a building, that is a house. Home is a place where your love ones are, where everything you cherish and love is, where you sang when the sun shined, and cried when it rained. That was home. If she ever had a home, it (she knew she had one, it some distant memory) would be have been long burned down to ashes along with the rest of her parents remains. Nuh uh, the Akatsuki base was not her home, it was just a house. Yes, she stayed in a house with a bunch of mentally unstable, violent and perverted men. Oh, they aren't just like any other ordinary men, they were S-rank missing Nin. Plus the fact that two were animal/plant hybrids, a legendary Sannin, an 'everlasting puppet', a greedy money voodoo doll, and a sweet obsessed teen. Mix them up and you'll get the Akatsuki. Really, what was Nagato thinking? Not that she'll ever question the choice of her best friend, okay, maybe she did question his choices once in a while, but oher than that, she had nothing less than whole hearted devotion towards Nagato.

But she will admit, somewhere, deep inside of her, did she always wish that she could somehow or rather have a family of her own, a home, somewhere which wasn't rainy, of curse. It was always that girlie part of her that wanted this. The realistic version of herself though, always crushed that idea down. She was an Akatsuki member, who lived in the middle of some god forsaken forest along with a bunch of perverted, males. If that wasn't enough, she had no parenting skills whatsoever too. She, as far as she could remember, was an only child who did not have any relatives and her neighbours were all grouchy old people. So any experience with children was out of the question.

Sadly, no matter how many times she rejected the idea, it still came back from time to time, and sometimes, with just that thought, she wondered how life would have been like if she had never Yahiko and Nagato.

With her mind preoccupied, she would have never noticed the puddle of mud she was about to step on, not until it had absorbed her up till her knee. She muttered furiously under her breath, she couldn't believe it was already the twelfth time her leg got suck into another pile of shifty sand. Grumbling slightly to herself, so much for the no daydreaming plan, she thought, as she struggled to free her poor leg from the mud, wriggling and tugging with all her might. After some time, she finally managed to pull her leg free, only to realise it was missing a shoe. Just then, tiny drops of rain water started to pour on her, as if taunting her, before crashing down entirely. She swore that she even heard the rain (feel free to call her insane) sniggering couple of times, while the wind supposedly innocently whispered past, only to be sneering some insults into her ear. Sighing deeply, as she bent down to fish her shoe out of the foul mud, she clearly knew it was so not her day.

_..oo0oo.._

Hungry, cold, dirty and wet, plus in an ultra bad mood, Konan had only managed to gain back her ninja sandal after half-an-hour (well, it felt like half-an-hour) or so of hard digging. With her hands covered in grime and mud, she could only frown when it continued to stick to her like a second skin, refusing to come of even with the help of the rain. Her frown deepen when a stray wet leaf flew splat on her face. Really, what did she do to make Kami so mad towards her?

Other than the fact that she was a cheater, a liar, a thief, oh, and not to mention, a murderer. But that was what it meant to be a ninja. It may sound like a awesome kick-ass job to kids, years of experience though, taught her other wise. Being a ninja isn't always about being the good guy, or the hero, it was pretty much doing all the dirty work that all the higher ups didn't want to do. Often times, you had to be the bad guy.

It was ironic, because the only reason why Konan had become a ninja was because her parents were killed by Iwa-nin during the Third Shinobi Great War. She had only become a ninja so that she could protect her love ones and to ensure other families didn't get torn up, the survivors having to face the same pain she had to. But here she was, covered in the blood of her victims, who probably had a family back home, waiting to eat dinner with them, for them to return after a hard day of work, only to realise that they were dead. She really disliked killing, especially if the victims had a family. Alas, she was ninja, and it was her job.

She remembered the last person she killed, not so long ago. Heck, it was only yesterday. A poor young farmer, not even twenty years of age, heck, he was probably only fifteen. Hard to tell, he was so tall. But anyway, he had saw her killing some business man (It had something to do with supplying the enemy, yada yada), his neighbour probably, and had started to panic, screaming and shouting. Thus, leading to Konan killing the poor teen, but she remembered him, begging her to spare him, promising to keep his mouth sealed about the death of what's-his-name-business dude, crying out that he was the only son of his old parents, the one and only sole bread winner of the family. Surely they'll perish too as soon as their son died, either of heart attack or a broken heart, depending on what came first. She was most tempted to let him live with only a warning, but alas, Pein's word was law, he had saw her commit crime, and thus was doomed to cross over earlier than supposed.

A sudden gust of wind nearly threw her of her feet, though it had successfully took her trade mark flower away. She clenched her teeth together, loud growls coming out through her tightly sealed lips, a pair of well trained hands inched closer and closer to her weapon pouch. She was well known for always keeping up a poker face during meetings and missions, and she hardly ever got agitated (even with all the sexist jokes going around in the base), but this, this, really just bought the cake. Never had she felt so freaking irritated in her entire life! Yes, Kisame and a certain sugar high teen did get on her nerves from time to time, but that wasn't even close to this! She was really going to explode! But giving in to her feelings wasn't exactly what a S-rank Nin to do (plus the fact that she, Konan, so-called the emotionless statue got angry over a leaf, she would never hear the end of it!), so she did the next possible thing an enraged person would do.

Count to ten.

Her not-so-brilliant plan was to count to ten. Taking deep calming breaths seem to do little good, but it did manage to ease her ever so slightly. Running her filth coated fingers over her equally filthy hair, the missing Nin suddenly remembered that in her anger she had forgot to see which way her favourite hairpiece had went. Okay, keep calm. Now let's start with the ever-so-famous count to ten technique. She wasn't exactly sure where this trait came from, but it sure worked when she was stressed out and having to deal with a few sugar high overly loud members. So obviously, it would work on this, right? I mean, no one ever got angry over a bunch of wet leaves and mud to kill-

_Splat!_

Another leaf had just flew splat on her face, and this time, Konan just lost it. Really, just screw this! Screw the blasted mission! Screw the rain! Screw leaves! Screw the damn count-to-ten method! She tore the leaf from her already dirtied and enraged face, ripping it into unidentified little pieces, slamming them on the ground, before proceeding to stomp on them, screaming all the curse words she knew at the same time. All near-by wildlife ran away as fast as their little legs could carry them, not willing to be crushed by this angry blue Yeti.

Heck, even the rain and wind seem to quieten down, the indigo haired Nin was so furious, that there were death rays oozing through her heavy black cloak, sending the forest into an unfamiliar eerie silence.

It was not everyday the Angel of the great god of Ame got mad, nor was it everyday she got pissed by inanimate objects, but when a woman get's mad, hell's wrath knows no fury as a woman's rage.

_..oo0oo.._

To cut the particularly long and violent story short, Konan had managed to calm down only after an hour or so of intense work out, or what males may know as, PMS session. Times a few million times, and you get a not-so-happy Konan. Konan caught a glimpse of her reflection in a puddle, and her jaw almost_, __almost_ dropped. Her usual not a hair out of place blue hair in a bun was now loose, matted and looking like a bird's nest. Her eyes were bloodshot and intense, with days worth of eye bags forming under her eyes due to lack of sleep, the usually soft and calm voice was loud and raspy. Even her cloak, which was once spotless and wrinkle-less, save for the red Akatsuki cloud, had numerous holes in it.

Where was her normally neat and prim, tidy self? Probably in some other dimension, calmly sipping tea whilst chatting to other female S-rank Nin who too had blown up after coping with large amount of stress for a long period of time. In her place was a mad woman, with windblown hair and torn clothes. Her inner insane self looked so crazy, she looked as though she had just escaped a mental ward in some high-class, top secret island, currently running as though there was no more tomorrow for her if she got caught.

But back to the present, to where Konan was currently finding her way through the dense woods, avoiding branches which shouldn't have given her such a hard time, except that her feet tended to get stuck ever so often in those accursed puddles of mud. So much for the S-rank title. And this was her home turf too! In the rain... Maybe she had been a little too much used to the nice weather of the rain and fire country border. She rather like the weather here, with all of it's sunny glory. It had less rain than Ame, more greenery than Suna and not as scorchingly hot, decidedly less misty and war than Kiri, not as many thunderstorms as Kumo, plus Iwa was really too rocky for her taste. The fire country also had nicer citizens too, compared to their war harden counter parts. She may be a criminal, but manners were still greatly appreciated.

Pulling away another branch while smartly dodging before the leaves decided to take their revenge for moving them, before looking in all directions, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of her flower. North, South, East, West. No such luck, not even the faintest trace of the blue flower. Bighting her lower lip to prevent her from sighing, she continued on her fruitless search. That flower has been with her for so long, almost ten years in fact, give and take. It's been through so much, from forming the new Akatsuki, defeating Hanzo, creating the new Amegukere, Yahiko's death...

That flower. The only reason she even started wearing it was all because of Yahiko. He had helped her discover her love and talent towards Origami. He was the one who had always manage to help her wriggle herself out of trouble. The one that proved to her that being a Shinobi didn't define gender, but how hard you worked. And the one who had told her how beautiful she was with that flower. Saving each other, supporting each other, sharing their only possessions, little things like that was what made him so important to her.

It was why she was so determined to fine that blue origami flower, because it was the only thing left in this world that tied her to Yahiko's memories.

She turned away, planing to look at the other side, deciding that her flower was not here, just when a flash of blue caught her eye. Turning back faster than you can say 'ramen', her heart leaped for joy, over there lying on the ground, below a very large tree, was her precious flower. Untainted and pure, lying just a few metres away from her, a stark contrast against the mossy forest floor. Running towards it, feeling rather relieved and happy, it was as though she was soaring to the clouds. Just when the sound hit her.

Soft whimpering sounds. Coming from the once cream coloured blanket (or how it looked like) lying just next to her Origami work.

Stopping rather quickly for someone going at such a speed, she narrowed her eyes, taking one of her last few kunai from her weapon pouch, twirling it around like a pro, before grasping it firmly. Positioning her self in a stance, getting ready to lunged at her enemy the moment it strike, slowly inching closer and closer to her target. Her other hand was in her pocket, ready to throw a smoke bomb for a quick escape. The fallen rain drops did little to distract her from attacking her prey, gone was the mad woman, blabbering nonsense, gone was the easily distracted female, in their place was now a stoic kunoichi.

Small baby steps, one at a time, she brought herself closer and closer towards said blanket and whatever was under it, which was currently failing around, soft whimpers were heard from it. Konan could sense a tiny amount of chakra from it, her breath hitch.

No. No way. It can't be. It just can't. Not now!

She walked towards the tree, pocketing the kunai, but still kept a firm hand on the smoke bomb, her stance still as hard as ever. She immediately picked up the flower, pinning it onto her indigo locks. Happiness filled her heart to the brim, along with a relieved sigh coming out of her mouth. Her precious flower was back where it belong.

That was one thing down, now for the other...

Konan turned her attention to the creature currently below her, her nimble fingers edging towards the dirty cloth, ready to pull it back at any moment. Deep breaths, deep breaths. Hoping and praying to all the God's out there, please let it be a dog. Or a... cat? Argh! Just don't let it be-

_Uwah!_

A baby...

A pink, bald, blind baby monkey look alike, who looked as though it was just a week old.

Sweet, real sweet.

Karma was such a bitch...

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**My third rewrite of the Akatsuki Child, yays! I'm so proud of myself *cries*. The first was really too horrible, while the second was just so un-developed. I warmly greet all my new readers and even warmer regards to my old readers (if there still are any).**

**Blah, my brain feels so mushy, I've been sitting in front of the computer for too long. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of WTJF.**

**Reviews keep me happy! And normally promise faster updates. Because everyone loves reviews!**

**Next chapter: A difficult choice is to be made, the baby is hungry, and Konan needs a break.**

**P.s. I'm looking for a beta, any betas out there who are willing to help me?**


	2. The Baby

**Author's random notes:**

***Cries* Three reviews and two followers?! This is the happiest day of my life! I wasn't expecting such a warm response from the readers, to be frank.**

**The following chapter was suppose to come out next week, but after receiving all your AWESOME ****responses, I just couldn't resist to post this chapter, a mere two days later. Be warn, the later chapters won't be out as fast, unless of course, all your beautiful reviews manage to warm my cold heart.**

**Thanks to DarkDragonHead (cake for you for being the first reviewer), crystalicious29, udntned2no (cookie for your very sweet review!),cass1218 (a piece of pie for being the very first follower) and Sweetdreams21 for the lovely reviews and follows. You guys had really made my day. :)**

**Disclaimer: If you really think that I own Naruto, you really, really need to get your head check.**

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**When The Jasmine Flowers**

**Chapter 2**

**The Baby**

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Konan stared.

And stared.

And stared some more.

That...that..._thing_ couldn't be a baby, right? It was bound to be something else! Like a...a...a kangaroo! Or maybe a... koala! Or a kitten, a mole rat, heck, it could be a freaking eaglet for all she cared. Anything, anything, except for a baby!

The loud wails of the child slowly quieten down to long whines the moment it felt someone else's presence. It's wide grey eyes, threatening to sprout tiny waterfalls at any moment, looking at her with one of the most pitiful expressions she had ever seen, just begging for her to pick it up and hold it tight in her arms...

Must control maternal instincts! Grrr!

Kami, why a baby at a time like this? This was possibly the worst time to see one, especially one all alone in the forest like this. On such a cruel, rainy, stormy night like this...

Gah...

Why me?

Hesitantly Squatting down to the child's eye level, she continued to stare long and hard at the babe, who too seem to have notice the kunoichi staring at her, causing it to cease it's whines and return the weird woman's stare with it's own owlish one. She marvelled at the elder's bright amber eyes, though harsh from years of war and bloodshed, hid none of the gentle nature, wide with curiosity and perhaps a hint of confusion. Her messy indigo bangs framed her pale oval shaped face nicely, the torn cloak which clung to her body showed off most of her slightly muscular and well toned arms. The strange woman just continued to stare at her, as though it was her first time seeing a baby, before uncertainly stretching out a finger, poking the child's chubby cheeks, making sure that this wasn't an illusion.

Konan wasn't really expecting to see such an..._ interesting _baby the moment she nudge the cloth away.

To tell the truth, Konan would have honestly, honestly thought that it was some kind of naked mole rat and monkey hybrid, if said hybrid had not cried. Small, bald, most likely blind, with a perk of a nose along with a tuff of wispy dark blue hair (or maybe black? She wasn't too sure...) and a pair of puffy grey eyes, you could say that Konan had not expected a newborn baby to look like _this._

As far as she could recall from memory lane, the only time she saw a baby, it did not look anything like this. It had chubby rosy cheeks, like a chipmunk with nuts, smiling, had only two front teeth, smelled nice and most certainly did not look like a _this _baby. But what she did know, was that that baby, was almost a year old at that time, which was probably why it looked more...human. The one here, though, by it's size and facial features, most likely was only at two weeks old, give or take. She couldn't tell, this was her first time coming so closed to such a young child.

Like any first time parent or person, she wasn't too eager to pick the baby up, what if she drop it? Or what if she held it the wrong way. If God forbid, what if she held it too hard and it exploded? A ninja was never really built to be a babysitter, much less for a baby. Konan, a woman she may be, was absolutely lost when it came to babies and taking care of them. She can't possibly be thinking of keeping the child! They were the Akatsuki, not a daycare! She didn't even know how to hold one properly, for Kami's-sake! Let alone know how to feed it or burp it or all those other things...

But maybe there was a book in the base that could teach her how to. The last family which used to live there was a big one, they could have a book or two about child caring.

No! She lived with ninjas with uncontrollable killing urges and had no time to deal with them to begin with.

Though she could always make time, if she organize her schedule. And the men would hopefully just leave it alone and probably mind their own business.

They had no room nor the supplies to care for a baby! Like food, clothes, crib, diapers, toys... the list could go on and on! Kakuzu would have a fit if he found the receipt, he'll be on her heels for months on end!

But the near-by town did, and the prices were quite reasonable, and there was a spare room upstairs near the bathroom, with wide windows and was quite cooling.

Owls! The owls often flew into that room for goodness knows why. They'll probably harm the baby with their sharp talons.

She could install some grills in, though. The entire base did needed some grills for sometime. To keep all those annoying wild animals out. Especially the deer, they love stealing her cabbages...

But the mosquitoes! Dengue fever!

Install a mosquitoes net then. Besides, it was about time they started to clean the place. She really needed some of those anti-bug spray, now that she thought about it...

Wait! what if it belong to someone from a near-by village?

They wouldn't have left a baby here, would they? Especially one so young and vulnerable... and it was raining! plus all the thunder and lightning...

The nagging voice at the back of her head just won't shut up. Idea after idea pop into her head, and if she ever argued on why they should just leave it here, the other her would retaliate with answers for those questions.

Maybe, maybe... She could take care of the child for a while. She could probably discuss it more thoroughly when she got back to the base. Yeah, discuss it slowly with Nagato...

But what if her partner didn't want her? He'll get rid of her in less than a second!

He always did hear her out first, though. Konan always had a reason in doing things. Plus, she wasn't comfortable with leaving the baby here till it either starve or froze to death.

Perhaps...Perhaps she could give it a try.

At that time, sick of waiting, the baby let out an impatient wail, causing her to look even more like an apple. Arms failing and extended, as though waiting to be carried and to be whisk away from the cold. More whines sounding through her mouth, Konan sighed. Well, it's now or never.

Wrapping a pair of strong yet gentle arms around the baby's frail body, carefully lifting of the muddy ground and closer to her face, cooing softly as she cradled it close to her breast. The baby went very quiet for those few moments, before extending one chubby fist which grip her ebony cloak tightly, smiling with all of it's toothless glory. She had found her saviour at last!

Konan will admit, for a newborn baby, she did look, kinda cute.

Even if she looked like a monkey.

_..oo0oo.._

It had been a little over an hour and a half since Konan had found the baby.

And during that one hour and thirty minutes, she discovered a few things about her new... companion.

Konan currently knew that the baby in her arms was entirely dependant on her for everything, was the size of a loaf of bread, had two pale purple rectangular markings on both sides of her cheeks upon further examination, and was a girl. She found out about the last one by sticking her hand way down into the cloth. It wasn't as though she had anything Konan didn't have, it just felt so wrong. And it made her feel dirty and like a paedophile.

Said baby had just recently found out about the existence of her fist, and was currently trying to eat it, or so it may seem, the kunoichi couldn't tell. She could also be trying to find her thumb, which was curled together with her other fingers. It was amazing how small they were, her entire hand was only the size of her index finger, the upper half. Yes, it was really that tiny! Her grey eyes, no longer red and puffy, but shinning with childish excitement as they continued to stare hopefully towards her. Her body, which was actually quite chubby, though not as chubby as most babies her age, was lighter than her rucksack. Everything from her blue wispy strands of hair to her even tinier toes, the babe never cease to surprise her. Like how fast she could turned from a crying child to a happy bubbly one, to a whiny babe to a quite observant kid. All in the space of three minutes.

It marvelled her on how content and joyful she could be about the simplest things of life, such as discovering one's thumb. It made her to start to wish that she too could look at life in the same light. With such a carefree way, without having to worry over who will clean the dishes, sorting out all the mission files, dealing with the bills, fighting for food during breakfast, it would be a rather nice change of pace, only having to worry about things like when it was warm enough to play or whether there were any cookies in the cookie jar. If only life could be as happy as this...

If only...

_..oo0oo.._

A gentle breeze whispered past her ear, gently taking a few strands of blue hair out of place. Those amber eyes reflected the silvery moon high above her head. They were soft and loving, but under them there was a fiercely burning flame. A pair of long slender arms had her snuggling against the nice woman's chest. She clutched the damp black cloak tightly, yawning widely, breathing in the familiar scent, her chest rising up and down like some kind of rhythm slowly allowing sleep to take her away once more. Her eyes fluttered open, inwardly shaking her head. She was spending to much time sleeping! She could have done better things with the time, like that pesky crawling business. Rubbing her eyes with her chubby fist, squirming a bit into a more comfortable position before settling down again. As much as she didn't want to sleep, she couldn't resist the urge, and with the woman's warm body and rhythmic heartbeat lulling her to sleep on one hand, along with the soothing rocking, it was only a matter of time till she fell asleep. She felt very warm and safe in the woman's arms, somehow, she felt like this woman could be trusted.

No, she didn't feel it.

She knew it.

The woman was nice, very nice. She gave her warmth, love, and a hand to hold. She liked this woman, even if she had funny things on her hair.

It was still raining, but the droplets seem to be dropping at a much slower pace now, nor were they that big. The nasty lightning and thunder were gone too. She guess it was called di-dwi-drizz-ling, right? She still didn't like rain, but drizzling wasn't all that bad. It was peaceful, quiet and overall cool. The perfect time to doze off.

Her eyelids fluttering, fighting to stay awake. The battle was fought hard, but the end was inevitable. And slowly, but surely, her eyes closed.

And she slept.

_..oo0oo.._

_Does it hurt a lot..? That wound of your's?_

_It looks very painful...Would you want me to heal it for you?_

_it may look small now, but it'll worsen if it goes untreated, slowly eating away your flesh till you have nothing but a rotting hand.._

_It's not that hard anyway, physical wounds are never that hard.._

_Physical wounds are always easier to heal. More often than not, they just require a little time and some medicine to heal. Wounds of the heart, however, take a longer time. One week, One month, ten years? Sometimes they don't even heal, no matter how long you wait, and scar your heart for the rest of eternity.._

_For many, their scars never heal, perhaps from taking on too much of a beating. One thing for sure was that they'll never be the same again.. Hurt, regret, guilt, cause this scars to worsen, the victim eventually dying from a broken heart.._

_But I don't think that could happen, as long as there's a certain 'medicine' working within you, slowly but surely, that wound would heal. All your pain would be replace with none other than peace and hope. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, which causes you to emerge stronger than ever._

_Many people have searched for this strange medicine, yet few have ever found it. This healing slave is none other than love itself._

_Many people have talked about true love, yet few have ever experience it. Most only take it for granted, but only people who know the power of true love can truly appreciate it._

_Love is after all, the greatest power on earth.._

_..oo0oo.._

The Akatsuki base was a modest looking three-story house made of bricks and wood, with high windows and ceilings, and surrounded by a forest of lush greenery. The base had a total of twelve medium-size bed rooms, each with a personal set of mahogany chest drawers, seven white tiled bathrooms which smelled surprisingly like lemon, one gigantic kitchen filed with modern gadgets which they hardly ever used and a stock loaded fridge, three shabby sitting rooms and of course, a training facility located just beside the ground floor's bathroom. There were also a few storerooms filled with boxes of every imaginable item, mostly weapons. Though the usual human hand (or brain) wasn't a rare treasure if you found it lying between a can of peaches and shurikens.

Konan gave a sigh of relief when the base came into her view. After long last, they've finally arrived back. The base was well-hidden and Pein had cast several strong genjutsus on it, so, no one but an Akatsuki member or their subordinates could enter.

She placed a slim hand on the door, allowing her chakra to spread out towards the oak door, before a soft click sound was heard and the door slid open, and Konan entered the base. It was a funny door, wide and made of the finest oak, and it didn't have a handle or knob, nor did it have hinges. The only way in was by signalling your chakra on the door. This way, only chakra signatures that it recognize could enter into the base. A clever invention, if Konan said so herself.

She entered the hall, sliding off her shoes, flexing her mud-caked toes against the wooden floorboards. Oops. She'll clean that tomorrow, she guess. All she really wanted to do now was to go to bed and sleep like a rock. She walked past the hall way, frowning at the kunai embedded on the wall, millimetres away from a clock. Along with some blood stains. Oh, how would she love to sleep now!

But she couldn't do that, well, not yet. She first had to deal with her... friend here first.

The baby was sleeping peacefully, it had been for the whole journey, not waking up even once. Konan adjusted it to an even more comfortable position for her poor arms, letting the little blue head to just peaked over her shoulder.

Strolling quietly over to the kitchen, Konan frowned when she saw the messy state of it. Stacks of unwashed plates in the sink, small titbits littering the once clean floor, cup after cup of instant noodles of curry piling high in the dust bin, a stray apple core on the dining table, and the refrigerator door was not close.

Her left eye twitch.

Really, all she did was leave the base for one week and this is what happens. It wasn't as though they didn't know how to clean, but just can't be bothered to, leaving everything to her. Because she was a girl, and girls clean. And it was just the **kitchen**. She really didn't want to see the other rooms. She was going to have her work cut out for her tomorrow morning.

But first things first, the baby.

Placing the baby on the only available clean space she could find on the kitchen counter, she went over to the fridge to get some grub. The first thing she found was some left over rice balls, which would have to do for her for now, and some milk. Finding a carton of milk wasn't as easy as she would have liked it to be, she finally managed to grasp hold of a half empty one wedge in between the cheese and squid.

Looks like she would have to re pack the refrigerator too. again. For the fifth time this month.

Carefully checking the expiry date and labels. Konan felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Could babies drink cow's milk? She never really thought of it. It could be very dangerous for her to drink it. but it was either this or starve. and Konan didn't think that starving the baby would be any better too. Even she knew that babies needed frequent feeding. Especially for one so small.

She didn't really have much of a choice. And she figured the poor baby must have been famished by now.

Sighing in defeat, she would just have to try her luck.

Turning back to face the kitchen counter, Konan nearly had a heart attack when she saw the child just at the edge of the counter, ready to fall at any moment. Rushing forward at astounding speed, she caught the child just in time. Making a mental note to remember that babies and kitchen counters never went along well. Or anything high for that matter.

_..oo0oo.._

"Hungry, aren't you?" The baby merely looked at her for just a second before continuing to finish her milk. She must have been really hungry. She just started feeding her two minutes ago and now she's already half-way through. Which must have been a good thing. Finally clothed and clean, the baby really did look much more baby-like than a monkey. Wearing one or Konan's white sleeping shirt, which pooled at her feet, and a clean towel as a diaper, Konan felt fairly proud of herself. For someone who had never touched a baby in her entire life, she was coping rather well.

"Done." She took the empty bottle away, and left it in the sink. She'll washed it tomorrow, but the least she could do was to rinse it first. She couldn't find anything that she could use to feed her, so cutting a small hole on the bottle cap would act as her temporary bottle for now.

She placed the baby over her shoulder, gently patting her on the back. A small burp was heard, and something sliding down her back. Puke. Eww.

She had to remember to placed something over her back next time.

Deciding to call it a day, Konan exited the kitchen, not forgetting to off the lights (Kakuzu would have her head if she didn't). And went back to her room, the baby asleep yet again.

Her room was neither big nor was it small, it had a table and a chair, a large single bed, a set of drawers, some books, a lamp and lots of origami. Lots and lots of it. Brightly coloured paper cranes and flowers filled her study table. A small smile graced her lips. She never felt so happy to see her room before this. Room sweet room.

Carefully placing the baby on her bed to prevent her from waking up before surrounding her with pillows, Konan, pleased with her work, grabbed a towel and a change of clothes, taking one last peek at the kid, closed the door.

And came face to face with her orange haired partner.

* * *

**This chapter is undoubtedly shorter than the last, but I promise you, the next three chapters are freaking long.**

**Reviews would be very sweet, and will be appreciated.**

**Next chapter: Tension runs high, and the Akatsuki gets a little surprise.**


	3. Sunset of Their Lives

**Author's notes: This chapter is by far, my longest chapter ever, so to all you midnight readers, please take some sleep before reading this!**

**Thank you for the alerts, favs, and of course, reviews! Cookies for bluedancingkittykat, This Is Troublesome, Sweetdreams21 and (my only faithful reviewer, hugs for you!) udntned2no! You guys are awesome!**

**Disclaimer: If I ever did own Naruto, the world would explode. So yeah, enjoy.**

* * *

**When The Jasmine Flowers**

**Chapter 3**

**Sunset Of Their Lives**

* * *

Pein thought he was dreaming. He really thought he was.

He just woke up to use the bathroom, and heard the soft tapping sounds of footsteps.

Konan's footsteps.

The fact that her room door wide open just reinforced that.

Rather strange, it was unusual to be back so late. She never really did like coming back at night, prefering to journey during the day.

Even stranger, she was giggling, to herself.

And that's what was wrong. Konan never,_ ever_, giggled. And especially not to herself.

He padded softly to across the hall, his curiosity getting the better of him. He was about to go into the room, reasons be damn, he was just glad to see her. He wanted to give her a little welcome home gift.

And then he saw that thing.

The thing in her arms.

A baby.

The most un-baby like baby he had ever saw in his life.

Heck, it didn't even qualify as a baby. It was more of a _thing_. Some random animal hybrid.

Really, he was serious, it looked more like a rat or some sort.

Yes, it was just that ugly.

Or maybe it was just because he had never like babies much, which explains why all babies looked like prune-faced monkeys to him.

Konan exited her room and her eyes widened when they met. Ringed and amber caught each other's gazes. The temperature dropped ten degrees. And the entire hall fell extremely quiet.

The silence was suffocating. He decided to break the it first.

"Konan, what is _that_?"

She tore her gaze away from him. "Nothing." She fiddled with her black sleeve. Konan had never been good at lying to him, she had never been.

"Konan, what's inside?"

"Nothing, really. Really, it's alright, just...Just go back to sleep. Everything's fine."Their eyes met once again, and she gave him her best smile. But he knew it was fake. A plastic smile.,

"Konan, stop lying." Her smile fell, and looked away yet again.

Silence ensured once again. this time, Pein didn't break the it. One minute stretched to two, which turn to three, which became four. Soon, they had been standing there for a little over ten minutes. In complete silence.

"It's a baby, I found it one my way back. And I was...hoping to keep...it.." Konan pursed her lips, and fiddled some more with her sleeves, She raise her eyes to look at him, and he saw her amber eyes burn with determination. He felt a headache coming. Pein knew he was going to have a hard time persuading her to let the child go. He should have just went back to bed. Sleep has never been so inviting...

"No. Konan, no. We're not a daycare. You'll put it back where you had found it tomorrow morning. If I see it again, I'll get rid of it." He let the last few words come out threateningly. He had never meant to be so harsh. But Konan needed to know that Akatsuki's current goal was for world domination, and helping babies wasn't at the top of their priority list.

Konan lowered her head, saying nothing. Her shoulders fell, her messy hair covered her face, preventing him from seeing her expression.

Recognizing the body posture as a sign of defeat. He turned around and walked down the hall. Eager to get some rest.

"No." Soft and firm. It rang clearly across the hall, causing him to stop in his tracks.

Had she just said.. No to him?

"Konan, we're S-rank criminals, for god's sake! We can't take care of a baby! You might be okay with it, but neither I or the other members are fine with it." he argued. Really, what was with her today?

"But she's alone out there, Pein. You can't be serious about this, she'll die!"

"I'm dead serious. She's going to die here anyway. We have no knowledge on childcare, no supplies, and you still want to take care of a baby that'll burden us? She would have a better life without the likes of us. She should have never met any of us, nor should she have set foot in the base. You know we can't Konan, you know.."

Konan said nothing, all she could do was turn away from him. She knew they weren't exactly family material. But she really, really wanted to give it a try.

Seeing that his partner was saying nothing, Pein continued. "we'll go to one of the neighbouring villages tomorrow and find her a better home. It's for the best, Konan."

"Pein..." Konan whispered suddenly. "I..I mean...c-can't we...just...oh, Pein, why? What harm could come out of it? She's just a baby.."

"Just because she's an infant now doesn't mean she'll be an infant forever. You know fully well we can't take the child, Konan. You do know."

"But, she can be a great asset to the Akatsuki! She can spy on the enemy for us! Who in the right mind would suspect a child?"

"I already have Zetsu for that, there's no need for a child." He said coldly.

"She can be loyal ninja to the Akatsuki! We'll...Train her! And she'll be able to help us!"

"I already have an entire country under my command, not to mention some S-rank nin. I don't need such a feeble thing."

"But Pein-"

He cut her off. "Konan stop being so selfish. You said you would give up your own will in order to help me achieve world peace, you said you would follow my every command. Where's your promise now-"

"I've sacrifice a lot for you and the Akatsuki! I never complain to you! I was always by your side, even when we were children!" She snapped back at him. She looked into Pein's eyes without fear. He's heart sank.

He placed a hand on her slender frame. "Konan, you're tired. You're not thinking straight. Go to sleep, we'll deal with this in the morning. Goodnight." Pein saw her struggle for words, he teeth clenched, fist shaking uncontrollably. He merely sigh and turned away.

"You don't get it, do you? She's just like us, Nagato!" He looked back at her, slightly shocked. She only called him Nagato when she was with his real body. In the faint moonlight, he saw a few tears slide down her pale face. She hastily wiped them away.

He had never seen her feel so strongly for anything.

Konan swallowed the rush of words she wanted to say, knowing that they;ll only come out as babble anyway. this poor child was so alone, no mum, no dad, no anything. Completely just by herself, just like...Them.

"I know, that the current situation we're in, this isn't the best time to raise a child. I know I may not have the parenting skills, but I can always still learn. I really, really want to keep this child. Because, she's just like us. All by herself. All alone in this cruel world. we still had Jiraiya Sensei, but she? She has no one..."

Just like them.

The child was just like them.

There was just no denying that fact.

"Surely you'll understand why.." She swallowed the lump in her throat to continue, it felt like she could hardly breathe at the look of his cold, emotionless gaze. "why i want her to stay...She's got nobody in the world, she's special, I can feel it. She needs us..."

He looked at his partner, his friend for all this time, his angel. He looked at her pleading expression. there were a few stray tears at the corners of her eyes. Her begging expression, wide eyes, parted lips, flushed cheeks. He had never been able to stand seeing her cry, not then, not now, not forever...

He turned away from her, and gave the umpteenth sigh. He said the sentence that would change the lives of everyone in the Akatsuki.

"Do as you see fit."

_..oo0oo.._

A blue bird was perched against a window, chirping as it observe the slim figure sprawled among-st the blankets, her blue hair making a stark contrast against her cream coloured pillow . It cock it's head, curious about the fact that the strange person was still asleep despite it being so late. Thee bright rays of sunlight filtered through her thin lilac curtains, lighting the entire room. Specks of dust tickled her nose, unfortunate enough to be sneezed away.

Konan groggily turned to the clock on her bedside table, it read ten o'clock in the morning. She groaned and covered her head under her pillow, was it morning already?

She hadn't felt this tired since...since forever! Being a morning person, she usually got up rather early, but this was just... unexpected..

Sleep didn't really come easy to her that night, despite her cozy bed. She was tossing and turning for almost an hour, tingling with anticipation, for some reason. And, she had the strangest dream.

She had adopted a baby girl. And PEIN had allowed her to keep it.

What a weird dream that was. Firstly, where would they have been able to find a baby? Those things weren't everywhere to begin with. and the Akatsuki couldn't even care for a pet goldfish, let alone a child. Konan just couldn't imagine the impatient Sasori babysitting. The thought brought a smile to her face.

Funny dream that was, hahaha... She had to stop reading all those sappy romance stories..

Though somehow, or rather, it felt... real.

Which was impossible, because dreams were never real.

Konan rolled to her left and lazily got herself out from her pillow, wincing at the bright rays of light that pierced her eyes.

Strange, why were there so many pillows around her?

One, two, three, four...Eleven? what on earth happened yesterday? She was pretty sure she did not host a slumber party.

Then it hit her, hard.

The baby, her argument with Pein, they were all true.

It wasn't a dream, none of it was a dream, it was real, it really happen!

She was really going to keep the child, it was her's, all her's..

..Though, why was it so quiet?

Peaking over the mountain of pillows, she saw no sign of the baby.

Her heart climbed to her throat. Oh, she mustn't have been looking properly. It was probably just below the pillows. Inwardly gulping, she push another pillow away.

She continued to upturn pillows, still no baby. She started to throw them off her bed, Nada Frantically, she even pulled the covers off her bed, yet the child was not there.

Instantly, her blood froze up in her veins as her mind rushed through a million scenarios, the baby was missing, the baby was missing... The thought seemed to echo in her head continuously..

Without a second thought, she jumped out of bed and raced for the door.

No..No..It can't be..No..

Heart beating a mile a minute, she grabbed hold of the door knob and pulled, nearly tugging the door out of it's hinges. But she didn't care, all which was on her mind was the baby. Her brain formulating all sorts of possible disasters which could've happen, each thought worst than the last. Perhaps one of the members found her, and were planning to eat her now? Or had already dispose of her?

She tore out of her room, and ran into the hall way, almost falling down in the process. In her haste, she hadn't notice the tall figure which stood before her, and crashed into him.

"Urgh! What on earth-eh? Konan-san! It's great to see you again, you're very energetic today!" a playful voice rang as she rubbed her head. Konan found herself staring down at none other than Aratana Shuryo, lying down beneath her. He smiled sheepishly. "Erm..Could you please get off me Konan-san? Usa-chan doesn't like to be squished, it ruins his face." Quickly, she pushed herself away from the young man and brushed off some (imaginary) dirt on her pants, face flustered.

Long and lanky, with fair skin and bright cerulean eyes, along with silky white hair tied into a low ponytail, Shuryo often had this air of casual elegance which seemed to attract females. Konan couldn't help but to inwardly frowned over the fact that he was a head taller than her. She didn't particularly enjoy craning her neck just to talk to him.

"Good morning, Shuryo. it's nice to see you too. Have you seen a-"

"Baby? Why yes, I have. I just ate it for breakfast-OhMyGod, don't kill me! Usa-chan still needs me!" he screamed when she placed a kunai to his throat. She snatched the teen's stuff bunny from his hands and threw it to the floor.

"_Where is_ _she_?" The kunoichi hissed into his ear, pressing the kunai closer to his neck. Shuryo eyed Usa-chan, who was lying dejectedly on the floor wearily.

"I'm just joking! It's in the kitchen! I just-"

She ran off without a second to spare after he said that.

Stunned for a moment, Shuryo finally managed to compose himself. "Wait, Konan-san!' he shouted, and chased after her.

_..oo0oo.._

"Remind me why am I making you breakfast again?" Konan asked, cracking an egg into the frying pan.

"Because you owe me for not eating the kid." Shuryo flashed her a cheeky grin, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand. "Hmm.. Smells good Konan-san." He said, bouncing the baby in his arms, Usa-chan held in between his legs.

To cut the long and stupid story short, apparently, Shuryo had found the baby lying in between him and Usa-chan. How that happened, no one knew. And Konan refused to buy the story that the stuff rabbit became a faerie and decided to help poor little babies.

Being the silly young adult he was, it took Shuryo almost ten minutes to figure out that the child was crying, not his stuff rabbit. Ten more minutes to finally come to the conclusion that it was hungry, and another five minutes just to figure out how to carry it. He brought it to the kitchen to feed while causing as little of a mess as possible. but it didn't exactly turn out well, and Konan could just faint from all the cleaning she would have to do later on.

On the bright side, though, no one lost any limbs.

"Aww.. I think she likes me. You're such a good girl, oh yes, yes you are!" The babe cooed back at him. "See, this is Usa-chan! Do you want to be friends with him-No biting Usa-chan's ear!" He pulled the toy's ear out of the child's toothless mouth, cringing at the slobber which stuck to it. "I just cleaned him too.."

"Here's your food." Konan tossed him the plate, he swiftly caught it.

"Thank you for the food!" He chimed, and started to wolf it down. "Hmm! No one makes scramble eggs like you do, Konan-san! Wait.." He stopped suddenly, and turned towards the kunoichi, "You didn't happen to put poison in it, did you?" he asked nervously.

Konan shrugged, more interested in the child which she had just snatched from Shuryo, trying to remember the proper method of carrying a baby. Was she suppose to hold it's arms or armpit?

A high pitch girly scream emitted from his mouth."Konan-san! How could'jyu do this to me!" He fell off from his chair and rolled around on the floor, before he started to choke. "I'm dy..dying.." He mumbled, tongue hanging out lazily from his mouth. "Usa-chan needs me, Konan-san.."

"Stop being such an idiot." Kakuzu said gruffly, entering into the mess-up kitchen, giving the teen a swift kick at the ribs, who moaned softly in main. He looked at Konan, immediately noticing the small child which sat in her arms, curiously staring back at him. Sighing, he scratched the back of his head. "So, I guess the kid's staying then."

"..Yes. And how did you know?" Konan asked, giving him a suspicious look.

"You have no idea how loud you guys were speaking. The whole base overheard your argument." Kakuzu said monotonously, his jade eyes boring into her's, navigating his way through the mess easily before plopping down on the only available seat.

Konan felt her face heat up. "Ah.. Sorry about that, and keeping you awake."

"It's fine, though you do owe me a month's worth of wages plus a fifteen percent bonus. But no matter, you did not disturb me from my sleep that much, I couldn't sleep anyway." Kakuzu waved her away, took an apple from the fruit basket, pulled down his mask and gave a large bite.

Konan felt a shiver slither down her spine, she never really liked it when Kakuzu showed his entire face. It just made him seem so..inhuman. The long stitches which trailed down his cheeks, to his creepy eyes, plus a battle hardened no-nonsense attitude which sent even the most experience of ninjas crying for their mummy's. His mere name alone made chunnins wet their pants.

She did think it was rather silly of her to be scared of him, a mere member, when she was second-in-command. still, he was an extremely dangerous killer with a terrifying anger. Unconsciously, she brought the child closer to her.

Chomping on the fruit, Kakuzu inwardly frowned. Even after two years, the Akatsuki still hadn't been able to get used to his face. even his own partner winced whenever his showed his true face, no matter how much he denied it, the older ninja knew that it scared his young partner. He took out another large chunk of fruit, leaving just a fraction of the apple left. It felt silly to be so sad, after years of being shunned by other's, after all, he didn't care about anyone, and nobody cared about him. There was just no need to bother about others when they would just push you away from them, calling you a freak. There was no need to rely on anyone, he knew from first hand experience that trusting other people than yourself would always undoubtedly hurt you in the end. He learned it the hard way. He wasn't a masochist. He did not enjoy pain. It was just so much more easier for him to just shut out everyone away from him, locking himself up in a cave where no one could ever hurt him.

So was his life. It wasn't a great life, but sure better than most. Being alone, forever and ever.

He thought he was happy, no one could hurt him that way. He would be safe, at last, from all their hurtful stares..

..Despite all this, he still felt as though a part of him was missing something.

The babe watched the scarred man carefully from her place in the nice lady's arms, interest in her eyes. She had never seen anyone so..gruff before in her short life. He was kinda scary looking, and seemed pretty fierce. She couldn't say she didn't like him, just cautious. Just then, a new voice caught her attention, it was higher than the deep voice of the masked man, but definitely lower than the lady's sweet tone. He was very tall, and...Blue?

"Good morrrning, y'all." Kisame said, stifling a yawn. His spiky hair going out in all directions, eyes still bleary from probably a restless night of sleep. He scratched his belly in a way that reminded her of a bear. The kiri Nin stumbled over to the seat opposite of Kakuzu's, kicking poor Usa-chan in the process. It took him a few tries, as he kept falling from his sit.

"Morning. There are some eggs over there on the counter, help yourself out. I'm going to the wash room for a moment." Konan said through the kitchen's door.

"..It's too early to be so loud.." Kisame groaned, lazily ruffling his hair. "Hmmm? Eggs..? Well, thanks for the fooood.." Stifling another yawn, he grabbed the cleanest spoon there was, and scooped a spoonful of Shuryo's scrambled eggs, which narrowly miss his hair on it's journey to his mouth. Kakuzu sigh. Times like these were when the Akatsuki members acted.. Human, and not a bunch of insane serial killers who wanted to take over the world. Kisame would probably be fine after a cup or two of dark coffee.

"Hey, that's mine! Stop it, Baka-Same! Usa-chan's hungry too!" Shuryo piped up from under the table, struggling to push the blue man off his chair. unfortunately for him, Kisame was practically a mountain during times like this, and couldn't even be move by the strongest of ninjas.

"Stop it, Baka-Same! Stop! Konan-san, get him to stop!" Shuryo whined, Kisame's large hand was puching his head down, as he clawed the blue hands, giving his all to break free.

"..Bleh..It's too early for this, Shuryo.." He growled, ignoring the white haired teen's whines.

"Shut up, you moron. Go cook your own damn breakfast." Kakuzu said, preparing himself a cup of coffee. "You should try cooking for yourself once, instead of mooching off on other's." He turned to Kisame. "Would you like a cup?" The blue man nodded sleepily. "Yeah, whatever.."

"It'll cost you forty thousand Yen. Fifty if you're taking dark." Kisame shot him a look of disbelief.

From under the chair, Shuryo piped up. "I don't wanna cook! Konan san cooks the best scrambled eggs ever! And I don't mooch of on other's!"

Kakuzu felt a vein popped, his grip tightening on the coffee brewer. "Well, go learn it from her then, stupid! instead of whining the whole damn day!"

"You people are just too loud.." Kisame murmured.

"Shut up, Kisame!" The duo screamed at him. Shuryo turned his gaze back to the masked Taki nin. "Why don't you shut up and go learn how to cook, you stinking old man!"

The coffee brewer flew through the air, almost hitting Shuryo right on the head if he had not been fast enough to dodge. instead it hit the wall next to him, the glass broke and coffee sprayed everywhere.

Shuryo gasped. "Ah! Usa-chan is now dirty!" He screamed, shaking the stained stuff bunny. "Kakuzu-san! You'll pay for this-Argh!" He quickly dodge as Kakuzu reached for his neck.

"Gah! Hot! Hot!" Kisame jumped out of his seat, definitely fully awake now, shaking his hand, which had turned bright red due to the coffee. He grabbed the nearest cup of water he could fine and poured it over his scalded hand, sending a few plates crashing to the floor. Kakuzu, who was strangling Shuryo, was hit by one of the broken pieces in the toe. Roaring like a wounded tiger, he totally forgot about Shuryo and pounced on Kisame instead, trying to punch every bit of visible blue skin.

Ten minutes later, Konan re-entered the kitchen to find it half destroyed. Kisame and Kakuzu were in a fist fight whilst Shuryo lied just a few feat away, his breakfast making a striking contrast against his white hair, his stuff toy lay forgotten in one corner, stained with what looked like coffee. Broken pieces of glass lay scattered around the area, an upturn basket of fruits with some smashed apples were on the table, along with what look like a fork in the a milk carton. The kunoichi sigh, one moment they were all acting sane and normal, the next thing she knew, they were all acting like a bunch of five year olds.

Such a dysfunctional bunch of people..

_..oo0oo.._

Pein groaned, and threw his covers over himself, in a futile attempt to get the loud noises which had wafted from the kitchen out of his head. He hissed in anger when a cracking sound was heard, along with what sounded like Kakuzu's shouts. There was going to be hell to pay if they kept it up.

"Why must this happen every morning? Can't they all just shut up and eat breakfast peacefully for once?" Pein asked himself, cocooning himself with his white comforter. He had just woke up thanks to the noise, and was feeling rather cranky. But being God and the leader, he could not show that, his subordinates will take him as weak and it'll be even harder for him to control the lot of them. Despite the fact that they were all serial killers, Pein liked to think that they were all one big happy family. Define like to think. But that didn't mean they were. Unless you were talking about a crazy, dysfunctional and murderous family, then he guess you could be talking about them.

Too bad only he shared that idea.

But it was nice to imagine.

Families are like chocolate fudge, very sweet and often had some nuts in it.

As the all powerful leader, Pein never, ever had breakfast (or any other meal for that matter) with his subordinates, with Konan as the only exception. He was hardly even seen, but often heard. The only time he ever appeared in person (other than the rare glimpse of him going to the bathroom) was during meetings or whenever Konan managed to persuade him to spend some time with the other members during some festival, which often ended with him storming out of the room out the pure stupidity of his subordinates. He didn't really know nor did he care about what exactly was happening other than that, or why were they celebrating the event. All he knew was that he was going to destroy most of them after he became God of the world. He would stayed locked up in his room or study for hours on end, being a total anti-social freak most of the time.

Pein didn't mind it much, he liked his nice, peaceful (mostly) and quiet life. With just him, Konan, his unstable extended family and an awesome kickass plan of world domination. Heck, he hadn't even killed anyone since like..Last month.

Yahiko would have been so proud..

A piercing wail ran through the house, followed by more crashing of plates and Konan's screams. He groaned, and stared longingly into his pillow.

Maybe he should have just stayed in the rain village for a more peaceful morning.

_..oo0oo.._

Hours later,in a near-by town under the scorching afternoon sun, two figures along with a baby roamed the streets. Konan had decided to get some baby supplies, and had dragged Shuryo along with her. They had managed to clean the base to a satisfactory level, if the kunoichi did say so herself. The kitchen was cleaned to a satisfactory level, the living rooms, hall and extra room were decent, the bathroom had yet to be scrubbed, but Konan decided she could always do it later into the day, provided she did not passed out first.

Kisame met the baby without that much surprise, having overheard the argument too. He merely gave the child a wide toothy grin, giving her full view of his needle sharp teeth, before disappearing to who knows where. Kakuzu stormed off after they were done cleaning, murmuring something about bloody females and teenagers. Ultimately leaving Shuryo as the lone scapegoat.

So here they were, a small town not too far away from the base, just thirty minutes up north. it was rather populated, and had high slopes surrounding the place along with lush greenery. It was a rather secluded place where hardly any ninjas ever came to, but was popular for it's wide range of flora and nice townsfolk.

Used to the cooling climates of the rain village, Konan was sweating profusely despite the lack of her usual thick black cloak. Shuryo, being an ex-kiri Nin was also sweltering under the blazing heat, panting loudly. It was a good thing they had left their heavy cloaks behind.

"This must be the shop.' Konan said standing outside a pastel coloured shop, looking at the billboard Kaori's baby shop was written in bright pink letters. She looked at the piece of paper the tourist information centre had given her. It was the only shop which sold baby supplies in this town. Shuryo, too hot and bothered to care, wiped a few beads of sweat off his forehead, just nodded. Even the baby was cranky, fidgeting non-stop ever since they had set into the sun. Taking a deep breath, the trio entered into the shop.

A blast of cool air hit them square in the face, relieving the group from the hot outside air. The entire shop was empty except for them and a couple of old ladies at one corner. The walls were painted a nice cream colour and had various murals painted upon it. Row after row of baby clothes took up the left side of the shop, whilst the basic necessities were at the front part of the store, larger items such as strollers and cribs took up most of the space at the far end, with a wide range of baby toys occupying the right side of the shop.

The trio were rather overwhelm by the large amount of things which crowded the area. There were just so many things to choose from, and they didn't know where to start.

"Hello, there! May I help you?" A friendly shop assistant asked, popping out from behind one of the clothes rack. A rather plump old lady with greying hair tied into a tight bun and half-moon glasses. An apron tied tightly around her blue dress, blue eyes twinkling behind the lenses, and she flashed the pair a wide smile.

"Er..No thanks." Konan replied, shaking her head.

"Ok. If you need me, I'll just be over there." She smiled that smile of her's again, Konan couldn't help but to smile back.

Oh well, might as well start with the basic things first. She walked over to the diaper section, carefully balancing the baby with one hand as she picked up a pack of diapers. It seem fine, though it was a little too big. She picked another one up, no, it looked too thin. Konan felt simply dumbfounded after she had pick up another wrong on earth was she suppose to choose diapers? There were diapers from a hundred different brands, all sorts of sizes, and they were not even by ages! How was she to know how much the kid weighed?

She looked to Shuryo for help, only to find that he had mysteriously disappeared. Probably to the toy section, he did have a very limited attention span. She gave a long sigh, looking exasperatedly at the long row of diapers.

"Is everything okay?" the lady once again materialized out of no where, trade mark smile on her face. Konan inwardly jumped.

"Um..Not really..I would like to ask..How do you choose diapers? I don't know how much she weighs.." The kunoichi asked slowly, a blush on her face as she lifted the babe a little higher for the lady to see. She seem to have taken an instant liking of the old woman, reaching out towards her.

"May I hold the baby?" She asked, hands held out. Konan handed the baby over cautiously.

The woman gently bounced the baby. "..Around nine pounds, probably two weeks old..Are you a first time mother?"

Stunned for a moment, Konan proceeded by nodding hesitantly. "How do you know.. Everything?" She had been with the child for more than twelve hours, but didn't know anything about it besides it's gender. While this lady, on the other hand, managed to find out it's weight and age just by bouncing it.

The lady winked at her. "I've had eight kids and five little grankiddies. By the time you've been through all that, you'll pretty much be able to read their minds." She shifted the child to her left hand, and placed her right on Konan's shoulder. "Don't worry, the mother instincts will come to you sooner or later. My name is Kaori, by the way. Now," She smiled even wider. "Why don't we find some diapers for your little baby here?"

Eventually, Konan chose a cheap brand of diapers for babies between eight and twelve pounds before heading for the clothes section. Konan didn't know why the employee had followed her around like a lost puppy instead of helping other customers, but she was nonetheless grateful.

Kaori showed her around, helping her to choose most of the important stuff, telling her the importance of each item and the amount of nutrition a child would need on a daily basis. Konan felt her head spin and doubt she would be able to remember all the tips.

"Are you going to breastfeed her?" Kaori asked, suddenly turning behind to face her. They were currently browsing through the milk powder section.

"..I-I don't think so.." She managed to stutter out, cheeks colouring slightly. It was rather embarrassing.

"I see." Kaori said, stroking her chin. "I suggest you choose this brand. It's very good and has been a great help to me during my third child's infancy." The elder woman held out a tin of milk powder. Konan nodded graciously, and placed the can into the cart, which groaned slightly as she added two more cans.

The blue haired woman placed a bottle or two into the cart, they seem okay-ish, and was the cheapest one she found. She couldn't exactly tell the differences between this and the more expensive ones, they all looked the same to her. She was on a tight budget. She plopped a few pacifiers in as well, thinking she might need them sooner or later.

While purchasing clothes, Konan had to resist purchasing all the lovely and delicate looking dresses. They were all so adorable, with their lace and ribbons. Though she just couldn't resist buying one bright blue sun dress in the end. Mostly of the clothes she chose though, were small t-shirts and footsies. There was of course, a wide variety of colours and patterns to choose from, she was spoilt for choice.

Kaori managed to persuade her to get a crib. Which was probably not the best idea ever when they had to run around the shop like headless chickens for sheets and a mattress which the elder swore she had. Konan had still not seen Shuryo yet.

It took the duo almost three whole hours to get all the stuff, and Konan was so exhausted she felt like curling into a ball and sleep. Kaori, noticing her fatigue, gave her a breather by offering to hold the baby while she caught her breath.

The elder patted the child's cheek a few times. "My, what a lovely baby you have! She also looks quite like you." the jolly woman said, to which Konan merely gave a weak smile in return. "Rather small for her age, but she'll probably catch up later. My fifth child was exactly the same, people thought she was just two when she was five." Kaori peered curiously at the babe's eyes, and turned to Konan. "Her eyes, did she get it from her father's side?"

"Err..." Was the kunoichi's intelligent reply.

"Yes, she got it from her grandmother." Shuryo said, appearing from the toy section. Dumping a few stuff animals into the trolley, he grinned at the sales lady. "I hope she has been a good girl." He tickled the child under her chin.

Kaori returned the baby to Shuryo. "Why yes, you two are lucky to have an easy baby for your first child." She paused for a moment. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you folks only shopping for baby equipment now? Why didn't you folks buy it sooner?"

The room fell so silent that Konan could practically hear her own heart beat.

Kaori scratched the back of her head, "..Ah, I'm sorry to have touched something personal. Very sorry. I think-"

"Our village was attacked by a bunch of rogue Nin. We were one of the few remaining survivors. It was..Horrible, we lost everything we had, our house, our land, our love ones, everything we posses." Shuryo broke in, his voice awfully hollow. "We decided to flee to this country, hoping for help from relatives."

Kaori nodded mournfully. "I'm very sorry about that. I hope I didn't bring up any hurtful memories." She placed a hand on Shuryo's shoulder. "I did hear about the attack, but I didn't expect to see any survivors."

"It's fine, Kaori-san." Shuryo said. "Because we still have each other. Times are tough, but we know that we have together, we'll pull through."

"That's the spirit." Kaori nodded approvingly. Konan cleared her throat. "Um, Kaori-san? Could we please pay for the items now? I think we've bothered you enough.."

"Why yes you can. Anything is fine." the elder snapped out of her dazed, and rushed them off to the cashier.

_..oo0oo.._

"Shuryo, what you said just now.. Was it all true?" Konan turned to her younger (yet taller than her) companion, whilst she struggled under the load of all the items. They had promptly left the store after paying a small fortune for the things. Kaori gave the duo a ten percent discount, which they accepted gratefully, due to them exceeding their already tight budget. She also gave the child a stuff goldfish, claiming it to be a in purchase free gift, along with plenty of toilet training tips. The pair couldn't believe in their good fortune and the presence of a nice person, thanked the old lady profusely, said nice lady merely told them it was nothing and waved them away.

"If you ever need help," She said to Konan. "I'll be here to help." Those were some of the kindest words ever spoken to the kunoichi for a long time.

Faith in humanity has been restored!

Konan turned to her still silent partner. "..Shuryo?"

"Yes, it happened last week...Kakuzu-san and I were the reason why it happen." Shuryo turned to her. "It was horrible, blood everywhere, people screaming for help, the cries, the mourning yells, the pain... Everything that happen.' He stopped walking and she saw his bright blue eyes darken considerably. "It wasn't fair for them, it wasn't even their fault! It was their stupid leader's fault! They didn't deserve this! It just wasn't fair!" He growled loudly and continued, Konan took a step back from him. "I didn't become a ninja to murder and maim! I became one to save lives, to prevent other's from experiencing the same thing I had to go through! Damn it!" A loud resounding thunk on a nearby trunk startled Konan, it was her first time seeing Shuryo so upset. She knew he never really liked killing, but this was the first time she saw him so.. emotional about it. The white haired man fell to his knees.

"Shuryo..." She murmured, coming closer to him.

"..I'm just a hypocrite, I couldn't even keep the one and only promise I've ever gave myself. I'm a horrible, horrible person. All I can ever do is kill and kill and kill. Konan-san," He looked at her desperately, seeking for acceptance. "Can Leader-sama really achieve ultimate peace by doing this? Would it ever come? Does this peace even exist?..Am I..Am I even doing the right thing?"

She crouched down to his level. "I-I can't say that for sure, Shuryo... We just have to trust in Leader-sama. But I believe. " She said loudly. " That as long as you put your whole heart into something, what happens after that can't necessarily be a bad thing."

"I hope you are right."

Konan didn't answer, readjusting herself to make it more comfortable for both herself and the sleeping baby. It whined a bit before quieting down again, placing it's fist in it's mouth. She couldn't really remember her old life in great detail, but she could remember most of the important aspects, and the fact that she was happy. She felt a twinge of sadness for the young man. Despite his carefree cheerful nature, he had a pretty sad past. Most Akatsuki members were alike in this way, it was sad, but true.

They both became silent for the longest time in Konan's memory with Shuryo, except for the occasional gurgle from the baby of the chirp from a forest animal, each deep in their own thoughts. She helped him up, and they both continued their long journey back to the base.

The duo finally reached the base after twenty minutes of silence, in which Shuryo seem to have returned to his good old annoying self. They both struggle to open the door whilst trying their best to balance a baby, three packs of diapers and a crib. At long last, the darn door opened when Konan managed to place her hand on the flat knob, which immediately recognize her chakra and slid away smoothly, leaving more than enough space for the duo to slide in.

The entire base was quiet, which was perfectly normal at this time of the day, as it was the best time to train due to the lower heat, plus less nosy civilians. Or perhaps a few trips to the nearby town, maybe even napping. Anything could happen during this time of the day, but Konan knew that they would more or less be back by dinner time, which she had yet to prepare. After making sure that the sleeping baby wouldn't fall out from the couch they placed her on, the pair scurried to the empty room at the back of the base, just in between the kitchen and the wash room and unceremoniously dumped the things on the floor.

The two Akatsuki members started off by cleaning every single inch of the room. Windows were wiped, the cupboards dusted, spider webs destroyed. Konan took out the mop once those were all cleared and mopped till the hardwood floor shone. Satisfied, they begun to unpack some of the items.

Currently, both members were sitting cross-legged on the floor, trying to piece the crib together. Shuryo was trying to decipher the instructions, while Konan fixed the crib. It shouldn't have been that hard, and would be a piece of cake for two S-rank criminals. Though apparently, Shuryo wasn't exactly the brightest light bulb in the box, so they ended up causing more confusion than ever and counting the amount of ink blots instead. And the fact that the instructions were mixed up made everything ten times worse.

"Take the headboard and lay it face up on the ground. Screw the latch brackets into the inside of the headboard... Make sure that the brackets face what will be the inside of the crib. Repeat with the floorboard." He read, turning the instructions upside down. "Hey, this guy's face is funny! See, Usa-chan!" He laughed hysterically, pointing at said picture.

Konan sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm herself. They had been doing this for almost an hour and a half, and yet they hadn't gotten anywhere. She tried her best to screw the latch brackets in, but the screw driver decided that it hates her and decided to break apart at that very moment. She growled menacingly at it, if looks could kill..

"...What are you guys doing?" It wasn't everyday Kisame Hoshigaki walked in and see two dangerous ninja sitting in a pastel coloured blue room surrounded by baby..stuff. Nor was it everyday he saw Shuryo and Konan working together to fix a BABY CRIB.

He made sure he slapped himself twice in the face, assuring himself that it wasn't a dream. When the same scene showed up before him once again, he blinked twice, stunned.

Explanations be damn.

"We're fixing a baby crib." Konan stated the obvious. She pointed the monkey wrench in her hand at him. "Would you please be oh-so-kind and help us." Konan was in her most exhausted state he had ever seen by far.

"Err.. No thanks.." He politely decline. "Just came to ask when's dinner. I'll come back later when you're less...Occupied." He motioned to get out of the room. Just the, soft whines were sounded from the living room.

The kunoichi sigh, running hand through her short indigo locks. "Kisame, please do me a favour and pick the child up. We're.. In a rather messy spot right now.."

"Excuse me?"

"Please go and pick the child up." Konan said in an exasperated voice, pinching the bridge of a nose.

Kisame raised his hands. "No thanks."

"It wasn't a request, Kisame." Konan shot him a glare. "It was a command. Now go pick up that baby."

"You can pull rank for all you want, but I'm not going to pick the damn kid up." He crossed his arms, a defiant look on his face. Konan returned it with her own death glare.

The whines grew into loud wailing, along with heart wrenching sobs.

"I'll pick her up." Shuryo stood up quickly, sensing the coming argument which was ensured. he dusted bits of wooden splinters from his sweat pants, and tried his best to navigate through the rather crowded floor, careful not to step on anything important. Once at the door, he placed the crumpled up instructions in the shark nin's blue hand.

"Here you go, Baka Same. Hope you don't break anything." With his trademark pink rabbit in hand, he waved at the two remaining members and left quickly to cajole the crying child.

Gently placing his hands around the babe's small body, Shuryo grinned at the sobbing child. "Hey there, kiddo. What's with the long face? Come on, smile. Smile for Shuryo." In response, the baby kicked him square in the nose, not pleased the slightest. The kick though, felt more like he was being hit with a soft pillow. The white haired man laughed, rubbing his nose. "You're cranky after your nap, well, turn that frown upside down!" Using his bunny, he began to 'tickle' the child, who's cries turned into fits of giggles.

"Aww... That's a good girl. Usa-chan won't have to worry about his ears bleeding any more! No more crying...Eh?" He sniffed her once, and withdrew away, repulse. "You stink.' He gagged. "Konan-san, I think chibi-chan just when to the toilet!" he hollered across the hall.

"Just change her! The diapers and stuff are in the red plastic bag, the once near the door." She hollered back at him.

"Where do I do it?"

"Somewhere flat!" She turned to Kisame. "Are you sure these are the instructions?"

"Positive. Now, attach the stationary rail. To attach, insert one dowel through the head and foot boards on one side of the crib by sliding them through the holes in the latch brackets. No, one dowel. Yeah, like that. Slide all the way to the ground and screw into place. Some stationary rails are attached by screws only. If this is the case, tighten enough so that the rail does not shake."

"..Like this?"

"..I don't think that's a screw driver, Konan.."

Konan sighed, putting down the pair of spanners down before picking up the hammer.

Kisame never felt such a strong urge to slap himself. "I think you should read the instructions.."

_..oo0oo.._

"Hmm.. What am I suppose to do first..?" Shuryo muttered to himself, eyeing the young child before him, held at arm's length. He blanched at the smell which was wafting towards him. The baby smiled and giggled, as if enjoying his discomfort. Deciding that it'll be too much of a job to clean Usa-chan, he had left the stuff animal safely seated on the couch.

Shuryo set the child down on one of the low coffee tables, scratched up after years of abuse and rummage through his bag of goodies. Diapers, powder, wipes.. Baby oil. Should he get some plastic gloves too?

He looked back up again and saw how deeply engrossed the baby was with trying to touch her toes. The action caused her diaper to sag at the leg hole with dubious greenish stuff which had not-so-magically appeared on the table. the white haired man felt his stomach churned.

This was a bad, bad sign..

Taking a few deep breaths, he unpin the diaper and a wave of 'interesting' smells invaded his nose.

"What have you been eating? Eww!" He screeched, pinching his nose shut. The baby girdled in response, and tried to kick him again.

Hastily taking one of the wipes, he began to wipe the baby as thoroughly as possible whilst avoiding all the mystery goo (he got kicked twice). Once satisfied, he tossed the wipes into the diaper, and dispose of it into the dustbin. He highly doubted anyone in their right mind would want to use _that_ again.

It took Shuryo ten minutes to figure out how on earth people got diapers under babies, which he realize after that there really wasn't a need to hold the child upside down by it's legs to do so. Finally, after much screaming, he managed to slide a diaper under her. A thin layer of powder covered most of the table, which wouldn't have been there if the child hadn't moved so much. He decided to clean it before Konan took his head off.

Finally, he managed to hold her still long enough for him to tapped the two sides unevenly together. Shuryo looked proudly at his handiwork, picking the child up, he decided to show off his work to the others.

"Hey! Look who managed to-Wow..."His mouth fell when he stepped into the nursery.

It was as if he entered a completely different room from the one earlier. A set of chestnut drawers gleamed brightly, most likely already filled with newly bought clothes and diapers. The top was covered with every type of ointment or baby powder, neatly arranged in rows, a box of wipes stood out of place next to them. The crib, now finally setted up, was set in the far right corner of the room, with soft yellow sheets. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of what look like a pink flower-shaped night light. Piles of stuff toys were placed in another corner, together with some building blocks and activity sets. A plush brightly coloured rug was thrown right in the middle of the room. Fading sunlight gave them just enough light to see everything, passing through thin pink curtains, which were pulled back, giving the ninja a breath taking view of the room. The room, in Shuryo's eyes, was just perfect. It contained everything a little child could ever want or need.

"Well, do you like it?" Konan asked, coming up from behind him. "We were going to wait for you to help us, knowing how much you wanted to do this, but you took so long. We decided to start without you, sorry."

"It's..It's just..Perfect. It's fantastic. You guys really did a great job." He replied, not looking at either staring at the setting sun.

Kisame snorted. "Of course it's perfect, we're the Akatsuki, after all." Kisame placed a hand on his white head. "You do owe me for taking up so much of my time to help you."

"No worries, Baka-same!" Shuryo turned behind, knocking Kisame's hand off his head. "I'll treat you to a drink one of these days. I really want to have a go with Kakuzu-san these days. Usa-chan can go too!" he said.

The babe in his arms whined, and wriggled a bit. Konan gently prided her from the teen's grasp and position her just so she was able to peaked from her shoulder. The child yawned, wriggled a bit more before resting comfortably with her head on the crook of Konan's neck.

The kunoichi stroked her soft blue hair, and looked at the two other members. "..I think we should give her a name."

Both males looked at her. "Eh?" They answered intelligently.

"It'll be easier for us to refer to her by a given name, and not just calling her an it, or thing."

Kisame stroked his chin. "Good point. But what do we name her?" He asked.

"I'm not too sure.. How about Kyou?" Konan asked.

Kisame shook his head. "Nah.. Aoi is more suiting." He countered.

"I don't really like it.." Konan said, looking thoughtfully at the child.

"Youhei than... It's a tough name."

"...It's a guy's name, Kisame."

Said man groaned, leaning back on the balls of his feet. "This is harder than I thought.."

Shuryo looked out of the window, still engrossed with the beautiful sunset. Hypnotized by the fading red and yellow sky, with touches of a deep dark blue appearing over at the edges. A gust of wind blew past, a few few leaves dancing across the blood red sky with it.

"Hinoiri." He suddenly said, catching his fellow member's attention.

"What?" Kisame asked.

"Hinoiri."

"Hi..noiri..?" Konan tried it out uncertainly. He nodded.

Met by the two blank looks of his comrades, he proceeded to explain. "Hinoiri means..sunset. With a new baby, everything here is going to change." He smiled, tracing the word in the air. "For better or for worst I don't know." He stretched forth his hand out of the window, as if motioning the grasp the setting sun. "It just shows that something in our old life is ending, and a new one is starting. So, she's like the sunset of out lives now."

"Hinoiri-chan.." Konan repeated it again. "I..I like it." a smile slowly sliding up her face.

"I guess it does make sense.." Kisame muttered. He turned to the child. For better or for worse, that child was going to be with the, for now on.

Shuryo's grin widened even more, and bent down to see the child from eye to eye, placing a hand on her forehead, he pushed a few strands back.

"Welcome home..Hinoiri.."

* * *

**Finally, done! Now, what do you all think of the little baby? How was Shuryo, Kakuzu's old partner? Too much occ-ness in this chapter? Write it all down and send them in! _I love reviews!_**

**I'll really, _really_, appreciate it if you guys would give me some response, for I've really slave over this chapter. Only one person reviewed for the last chapter, and considering all the hits it got, I'm quite disappointed. So review peeps! Not just for this story, but other stories of other authors as well! Reviews are like our drugs~**

**I'm not too sure how many of you are reading this, but I really, really hope you guys could please review. I absolutely REFUSE to update this until I get some reviews. I'm serious. It's low, I know. It's pathetic, I know that too. But seriously, for how much sleep I lost over this chapter, I think it deserves some reviews.**

**Next chapter: Because being the dangerous criminals they are, the Akatsuki really suck at child care.**

**Once again, review peeps!**


	4. Childhood I

**Author's notes: Happy New Year to all of you readers! This would have came out sooner, if it was not for my stupid writers block.**

**Forget everything I said about the last chapter being my longest. This one is twice as long, with twice the fluff, and twice the drama. So I suggest you guys to take a walk, eat dinner, or sleep before reading this.**

**Thanks to GEMfaerie (Hello again!), Generalhyna, babyrush, fey4life, zinap, csd14ll, and Sweetdreams21 for the favs, alerts, and of course, reviews!**

**Special thanks to my awesome reviewer udntned2no for being such a sweetie, here's a cookie!**

**Disclaimer: If I had ever had the ownership of Naruto, the first think I'll do is to slap Naruto for hardly ever noticing Hinata. :(**

**Random fact #1: This story was originally suppose to be named 'sitting upon the peak of tiger mountain'. Why though, I never knew..**

* * *

**When the Jasmine Flowers**

**Chapter 4**

**Childhood I**

* * *

The Akatsuki meeting room was often known by the members for being the holy of holies. It was a sacred room which was only entered whenever Pein called an official meeting. Anyone who sneaked in despite the fact that there was no meeting were never to be seen again.

Besides Pein, only the most loyal, dedicated, and obedient members are allowed to use the 'holy' room. And only Konan fitted that bill. Not that she had ever used it though.

Except for maybe this one time... But that's a totally different story.

Located at the top floor of the main base, the Akatsuki meeting room could hardly even qualify as a room. It was the entire floor! There was a nice U-shape table in the centre of the room, along with plush armchairs space sparsely to give all members sufficient personal space. Pein always sat at the head, with Konan flanking him on his right. other members were allowed to freely choose any sits they wanted, even though it was an unsaid rule that the senior members sat in front of their juniors. The meeting room was also the epitome of neat and tidiness, along with a touch of class, with ceiling to floor tinted windows, an expensive white leather sofa, central heating and air conditioning, and even a coffee maker! The sacred place was undoubtedly one of the best places in the Akatsuki base.

The only downside to this room was that every time the Akatsuki used the room, something bad had struck them.

"It is my greatest regret to inform you, that one of our members passed on a week ago." Pein said, eyeing the seven missing Nins before him as his deep voice echoed throughout the room, poker face never changing. A meeting was currently being held at the holy of holies, all living members were present, as it was the first meeting in years.

"Who was it?" a mono toneless voice asked, Sasori's.

"It was Aratake, Kisame's partner. He died during a mission. The mission was a success though at the cost of his life." His ringed eyes meeting every single one of theirs.

Death wasn't something uncommon in their world, Shinobi face the aspect of death every single day, hour and minute of their lives, and each time, someone died. In fact, the average lifespan of a ninja is thirty two. It was perfectly normal for people who led such dangerous lives. If you were fifty years old and still not dead, you would either be one of the strongest ninjas in the world, or the biggest cowards. Sad, as it was, but totally normal.

Life was like that, after all.

"Cheh. He was annoying, and a liar to boot." Kisame's cheerful and upbeat voice rang. "Good riddance." He stretched back relaxingly onto his chair, smile never leaving his face.

"He was a powerful Shinobi and perhaps one of the best lightning users of out generation. His death is certainly a loss for us. please do mourn for him." Pein ignored some of the scoffs he got. "on the lighter note, I want you all to be on a look out for any new potential members and report them to me immediately. We need all the help we can get."

Shuryo raised his hand. "Can we recommend anyone we think is suitable?"

Pein nodded. "You may. As long as they are S-rank and a missing Nin." he answered.

"Then I want to recommend Usa-chan to be Baka-same's new partner!" He grinned, pulling out his pink bunny. "Usa-chan loves you so much, Baka-same! He wants to be your partner for forever and ever!"

"Stop calling me Baka-same." Kisame snapped at him. " And get that stupid bunny out of my face." The blue man smiled dangerously as he ripped Usa-chan away.

Shuryo pouted. "That's mean, Baka-same! Bunny punch!" Kisame found himself face to face with the obnoxious stuff toy.

"That's actually a rather terrifying thought...To be stuck with that stupid idiot and his bunny." Sasori murmured "How do you survive, Kakuzu?"

Said man shrugged, watching as his partner proceeded to push the rabbit unto the shark man. He had no idea either. Shuryo knew how to stay away from him when he was angered, and was fleet on his feet.

Pein resisted the urge to strangle the teen. instead he answered him calmly. "The ninja has to be a S-rank ninja, Shuryo and don't make fun of Kisame."

"Usa-chan is a ninja!" He cried out indignantly. "A very strong one too! See? Bunny kick!"

"Can you get that _thing _out of my _face_?" Kisame swatted the toy away. "Your stupid toy isn't going to be my new partner, it isn't human." Kisame told Shuryo from across the table. What was with him and his obsession over that pink thing?!

Shuryo stared at him, mortified, his eyes widened in shock. He quickly covered the stuff bunny's floppy ears. "Don't be so mean to Usa-chan, Baka-same!" He gave Kisame a punch on the shoulder. "There, there Usa-chan.. Baka-same is just a big fat poo-poo head.." He stuck his tongue out at said man, and glared at everyone present, stood up and dramatically left the room, slamming the door loudly.

Pein's eye inwardly twitched. He had half a mind to Shinra Tensei the boy out of the country.

"Thank God he's gone. **Why can't we just kill him..?**" Zetsu asked.

"It'll be too troublesome and expensive to find a new partner." Kakuzu replied.

Pein coughed lightly, and everyone returned their gazes to him.

"Meanwhile." He continued. "Some trouble has been stirring up in Iwa, apparently their Jinchuriki went wild the other day and had almost wiped out half of the country, and possible levelled some mountains. Sasori, Orochimaru." Both members leaned in closer, ears open for instructions. "I want the both of you to go under cover and try to get some information on that Jinchuriki, and if possible, try to capture it. You'll leave at dawn tomorrow. Konan will pass you the scroll on the mission later." The duo nodded. Pein need not to brief them much, the scroll contained most of the information they'll need, and the fact that they were possibly the Akatsuki's most efficient pair.

He turned to the blue man. "Kisame, I know that you've just lost your partner, but I want you to go on this assassination mission in Kumo. Apparently the fella has been owing us money from one of the rescue missions, and has been on the run for the past few months. His warnings and threats have been unheeded, so i believe it's time we took action. Stay back later for details. You are allowed to take any free members with you."

"So I'm going to be a loan shark in this mission?" He asked, smiling widely, showing of his set of needle sharp teeth. He felt the tingling sensation of blood flowing down his hands, smiled turning creepier.

Pein nodded in conformation and continued on with the meeting. "Kakuzu, how much money have we gained in the past month?"

"500,000 yen, sir. Seventy percent of it comes from the bounties, eight percent from the village funds, two percent from the share we bought, whilst twenty percent comes from the missions." The Akatsuki treasurer replied swiftly and curtly.

"Excellent. You are all to keep up the good work, if not, do better. Are there any more questions before I leave for the rain country?-ah, yes, Orochimaru?"

"Sirr.." He asked, long tongue dragging the word. "Is it true that we are currently hosting an infant..?" His voice was so silky and dangerous it made most ninjas cringe.

"Why, yes. Yes we are." A chorus of murmurs sprang up amongst the gathered members.

"Sir.." Sasori voiced up. "Are-Are you..Serious..?" Had the almighty leader lose what little sanity he possessed?

"Why, yes i am, Sasori. I'm completely serious." He ignored the gaping face of his subordinates. "Child caring would soon be a duty that each and everyone of you would soon have to participate in. None of you are allowed to harm thee child, the consequences of that would be grave. Do you all understand? " Pein's voice was just as hard as his ringed yes, leaving hardly any room for argument.

"But-but sir, we are ninjas. **You could not possibly be asking us to care for it..**"

"You are all going to care for it. I do not care who you are, your history with children or your preference. And when the child is finally old enough, you shall all train her in a certain skill. Now.." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do I need to repeat myself?" Slowly, one by one, the members shook their heads, some looking angrier than the others.

"So we're basically having a human weapon then." Kisame piped up. The leader nodded.

Murmurs slowly died down, along with scoffs of disbelief, finally, all was silent.

The God of Ame stood up. "Meeting's dismiss." And with that he left, cloak bellowing behind him.

_..oo0oo.._

_Year 1_

"Look here, Noiri-chan! Look at Usa-chan-Hey not there! Here!"

Hinoiri looked from her left to her right, and back to her left again. She had just learned how to lift her head up not too long ago, and had been fussed over by Konan and Shuryo. she cocked her head to one side, confused. At the tender age of three months old, she was now able to lift her head higher than her bottom, open her clenched hands and overall looked more like a baby, and less like a mole rat. Her soft dark blue hair was now slightly longer and thicker, eyes brighter, and her skin, once raw and red, now had a healthy looking light cream tone.

"Noiri-chan! Looky looky! Shuryo-san has Kin-chan! Come on, crawl to Shuryo!" He waved the stuff goldfish in front of her, motioning for the child to move forward.

Hinoiri tried to push herself off the ground, struggling to get up. But the lack of strong muscles prevented it. She tried harder, failing her arms and legs, before whimpering as she reached out for the toy, fresh tears threatening to fall.

Shuryo gulped, and came closer to the child, scooping her up before giving her the stuff goldfish. Hinoiri stopped whimpering almost immediately when her tiny fingers got hold of the stuff toy, clutching it tightly as she gurgled contentedly.

Shuryo breathed a sigh of relief, crisis averted. Konan was usually a calm, collected and sophisticated woman (With an awesome body to boot). A poker face to rival leader's plus an extremely capable fighter. She hardly ever got mad and had always kept her emotions in check. But when a crying Hinoiri-chan was involved, to call her angry would be the largest understatement of the year. She was nothing short of a wounded tigress protecting it's cub.

A soft tug on his hair brought his eyes upon the child. A small smile tugged the corners of his lips. She looked up at him, temporarily removing her attention from the toy, taking in everything about him. His wide smile, his twinkling eyes, his straight nose. Everything. He was, after all, one of her most important people on the face of this earth. And he smelt so..familiar.. Like how the nice lady smelt..

"It has to be illegal to be so cute." He whispered, pinching her nose. She puked on him in response.

_..oo0oo.._

"This cannot be..!" Shuryo murmured, eyeing a wailing Hinoiri in shocked.

Konan looked up from her origami on the kitchen island. "What's wrong, Shuryo?"

"There's no off button on Noiri-chan!" He spun back to Konan. "How do we stop the crying, Konan-san?!"

"..."

"Konan-san..?"

"..Get your hands off my daughter..!"

_..oo0oo.._

The most memorable day for a seven month old Hinoiri was the day she learned how to crawl. She was a month late for it, but that was pretty common for some babies.

Somewhere around summer when it happen. It was as if one moment she was rocking back and forth, the next thing everyone knew she was moving across the floor. Slowly and steadily, much like a snail. Konan and Shuryo ran after her for the entire day, making sure no harm fell unto the little baby. She did tend to end up in dangerous places, such as Kakuzu's briefcase or Orochimaru's room, the child didn't know how lucky she was to avoid any permanent scaring.

Most members though, weren't so impress. "All babies learn how to crawl sooner or later, it's about time she did." Sasori stated matter of factly. He was not pleased, he had to baby proof his room, no chances would be taken that the brat might just wander into his room and destroy one of his latest puppet blueprints. Orochimaru had already suffered such a fate when he had forgotten to lock his room door. How such a child could end up on the tall study table was a mystery. And he absolutely refused to buy Shuryo's bullshit about magical faeries. Konan ended up overhearing him and the puppet received the silent treatment and death glares for the rest of the day, just reassuring his theory that Konan's hormones were imbalance.

After a fortnight or so of crawling, Hinoiri became an expert. She moved so fast it was starting to get hard to keep up with her when walking. She would be at the kitchen, silently shaking the chairs, a flash of blue later, she would be in the living room struggling to get Kisame's attention. Not only that, but she learned how to pull herself to the sitting position. No one could leave anything around any more. Whatever she found went straight into her mouth. From Usa-chan's tail to spools of Kakuzu's thread, ranging to Samahade's bandages to spare puppet parts. She was practically a baby goat. She enjoyed munching through paper the most though, and always aimed for Orochimaru's research notebook. One fine morning, she chewed up five pages of precious research notes, and it took the Sannin all night to try to glue them back together.

Konan decided to baby proof the entire base. They removed everything that Hinoiri could reach and placed child-proof locks on certain doors. The baby felt very pleased with herself. "Uga bafuh." She said.

Everyone had to be careful not to step on Hinoiri. She was almost always underfoot. "Put her in the stupid playpen, damn it!" Kakuzu said one day when she almost took out a page of his accounting book. the week before that, she tried to eat a few money notes.

"She needs the freedom to explore." Konan explained slowly, as if talking to a child, a tick starting to form on her forehead. She's been getting so many of these complains that she was getting sick of them. "Besides, she just got out five minutes ago."

"Well, too bad if she gets in my way. She needs to learn not to touch other's stuff." And clunk, he stepped on her arm and she screamed.

_..oo0oo.._

At nine months old, Konan finally decided to introduce Hinoiri to solid food. Her first feeding, however, told her that Hinoiri was more interested in spitting out the food and mashing it together with her chubby fingers, rather than swallowing them.

But then again, it was oatmeal. And babies don't really like oatmeal.

The second time she fed Hinoiri solid food, it had been porridge. It got Konan nowhere too. Though she did learn that porridge did get rather sticky if left in one's hair for too long. It took her an hour to get the sticky substance out of her hair and she vowed to never eat porridge again.

Shuryo had decided to feed her on their third try that month, this time he fed her mashed carrots. Hinoiri obediently took in two mouthfuls, looking very much like a hamster with nuts stuff in her cheeks, before finding that the carrots would look so much better as a picture on the wall, and spat the remaining carrots on Usa-chan.

Soon, watching Hinoiri being fed solid food became a big attraction amongst the Akatsuki members. Every morning, members would crowd around the dining area just to see Hinoiri's reaction to the food of the day, whilst giving their own random suggestions.

"You could try feeding her bananas." said Kisame one fine morning after Hinoiri almost puked on Konan. The duo tried it out the very next day, but the child was more interested with playing artist instead.

"Maybe she wants something sweet.." Sasori suggested next. Hinoiri had fun throwing canned peaches around the table the following day, giving poor Konan even more of a mess to clean.

"Perhaps you should just forced it down her throat..."Orochimaru told Shuryo after the babe had dumped a bowl of strained peas over her head. Shuryo made sure that Hinoiri would vomit on him later on as payback for that suggestion, Konan nearly throttled him.

"Give me the bowl." Kakuzu said one day, motioning towards the small plastic bowl in Shuryo's hands. He was annoyed and sick of seeing bowl after bowl of perfectly fine food being wasted. It was funny the first few times, but it was such a _pain _now. In the ex-Taki Nin's eyes, all the brat needed was a firm hand which took no nonsense, Konan and Shuryo babied her too much.

His weary partner was overjoyed. "Okay. Be careful if she gets to quiet, it just means she's going to puke soon." Shuryo quickly scampered off after handing Kakuzu the bowl. The masked nin turned to the little runt seating in her high chair purposely throwing a toy down. It was her latest game, toss a toy as far from her as possible and cry till someone picked it up. Runs and repeat. What a great game. Kakuzu shook his head, and returned her the toy.

Spooning a spoonful of apple sauce he brought it to the child's lips. She squirmed, and turned her head away, lips pursed together tightly.

"No, you are going to eat this whether you like it or not." Kakuzu brought the spoon closer to Hinoiri's mouth. She spun away and refused to meet his eyes.

The elder rolled his eyes. "Not even a year old and you're already showing such attitude. Come on, open up." He nudge it closer towards the baby. Hinoiri looked at him, then back at the spoon, before back at him. She closed her mouth with both hands. "Bafguh gwaga." She said.

Kakuzu sighed, scratching the back of his head, the kid was seriously getting on his already thin patience. "Seriously stop acting like such a baby" He yanked her hands away from her mouth and placed the spoon near once again. Then realising that she was_ just_ a baby.

"I don't understand why on earth you won't eat your damn food? Not like it's poison or anything.." He put a spoon of apple sauce into his mouth, the sweetness invading his taste buds. "Nothing wrong with it. You're just being picky." He turned to Hinoiri who was looking at him rather sceptical now (Or as sceptical as a baby could look). Shaking his head, he once again brought another spoonful towards her.

The child took it with little hesitance.

Kakuzu stared in slight disbelief for a moment, before spooning another spoon towards her, which she ate, smacking her lips. She motioned towards the bowl with chubby fingers for more.

Spoon after spoon he fed her, with each bite, more and more Akatsuki members crowded around him, murmuring. Finally, she finished the entire bowl of apple sauce.

"..How.. D-did you do it?" Konan asked, slightly fazed, burping Hinoiri. A small cloth was placed on a back to prevent her cloak from getting soiled. A small burp sounded, and no puke, good.

Kakuzu just shrugged. "I don't know. She just started eating by herself."

"Are you sure you didn't poison the poor kid?" Sasori eyed him suspiciously.

"Of course not, because, I, unlike you, actually have the patience to deal with such trivial things." He shot back. "Though it could be because I took some of that crap.." He said thoughtfully.

"You mean she ate it after you did?" Kisame piped up. "Man, you sure are one weird kid.." He ruffled Hinoiri's hair.

Konan looked at the squirming baby, smiling softly, she walked over to Kakuzu, and carefully placed Hinoiri in his arms.

The Treasurer was stunned for a moment, unsure what to do as he held the child firmly. Hinoiri took a strong grip on his cloak, pulling herself up to pat his masked cheek. She smiled brightly at him, showing off her toothless glory.

Kakuzu didn't know what to do. He'd never been good with kids, not now, not ever. The children in his village always avoided him like a plague..He couldn't get attached, he couldn't, the pain of separation would haunt him later.. He was sure..

_You monster!_

_F-Freak!_

_Get away from me! Get away!_

_That-that thing is here! Run, everyone, run!_

"G-Get off.." He muttered. Hinoiri came even closer to him, he could feel her soft form pressing against his.

_Help, help me!_

_Stay away, please, stay away!_

_I hate you!_

"Get off me!" He yelled. Thrusting the child into Konan's arms, not caring if she caught hold or not. He ignored the subsequent water works which followed, along with the shouts of his own partner. He stormed away from the kitchen, into his room, his only safe hiding place from this wretched, wretched world..

"Ka!Ka!" The child's cry was frantic, but Kakuzu didn't respond as he turned and walked away. "Ka! Ka! Ka!" Her cries slowly became half-nonsensical after she started sobbing. Kakuzu's figure getting smaller and smaller before he finally disappeared from the kitchen door. "_KA_!"

Kakuzu's back met the wooden door of his room as he closed it behind him. The last cry he heard had almost been hysterical.

Why did the child want him so bad? Why? Did she not know that he was a killer? One that could break her puny little neck as easily as breathing. He had killed so many people, blood stained his hands since long ago. Yet.. She still wanted him..

Tearing of his mask, he went to the bathroom, and stared at the mirror. He saw his own reflection looking back at him. Wild shoulder length brown hair, dark skin, hard jade eyes, and scars.. Scars everywhere. All over him. Scars, so many.. Scars..

He punched the mirror, trying to ignore the pain as pieces of glass pierce through his skin. "I can't get attached.. I can't.." He looked up towards the ceiling, eyes seemingly hollow. "..I won't get hurt again.."

_..oo0oo.._

When she was almost eleven months old, Hinoiri decided to stand up for the first time in her rather short life.

Konan was busily preparing dinner that evening, and most of the members were out on missions, leaving just her and Kisame, who was still partner-less.

She had set the little tyke in her playpen, which was basically a few large boxes joined together and covered with fluffy towels, along with some toys. The kunoichi didn't really like treating the child like a dog, but Pein was just to stingy to get her one.

"It's a waste of our hard earned money and resources. She will be old enough in no time anyway, so she'll out grow it sooner or later." He looked up from his paper work. "Just let her frolic around in the mean time or something." His stern voice replayed in her head. She growled menacingly, tossing a handful of chopped onions into a boiling pot of stew.

Kisame was in the living room at that time, slouching on an old lazy boy as he lazily scanned through the channels with droopy eyes, before finally settling for an interesting documentary about weasels, occasionally turning up the volume to mask the squeaks of Hinoiri's toys.

Finally bored with playing her toys, Hinoiri tried to get the blue man's attention. She wanted to be picked up, because when he picked her up, it showed that he cared about her. And he was very warm. She liked warm people. She first tried by calling out to him, with her gurgles and whines, but the Kiri Nin was so engrossed in his show that he didn't even bother to look at her.

Deciding she needed a better way to get his attention, she noticed a long blue arm hanging lazily over the arm rest, near enough for her to reach it. Crawling over to the edge of her box, she started to stretch out her arm, before straining her entire body and got into a keeling position. She could do it! Grasping the top of the box, she struggled to host herself up, falling a few times before finally grasping hold on the edge firmly without tumbling over. Reaching out for Kisame's hand, a smile of victory spread across her face when she finally caught his attention.

"K-Konan! C-come look! It's the kid!" He stuttered.

Quickly setting down the dishes she was preparing and rushing over to the scene, a small gasp escape from Hinoiri's mouth. No doubt, the young toddler was standing on both legs holding the box tightly for support. Hinoiri grinned brightly when she saw her.

"Hwor goo gah.." She babbled. Lifting up her arms, wanting to be picked up.

"Why I'll be..She's standing." Konan's whisper was barely audible. "She's finally standing!" She reached down to pick the baby up, and gave her a big hug.

Two weeks later, Hinoiri learned to walk.

At first, it was just small steps, one at a time, as she held on the near-by objects for dear life for support. Soon, she was cruising all over the base, happily toddling in and out of Shuryo's sight, as he followed her like a lost puppy.

Sometimes, she crash landed flat on her face. Most of the time, when she thought no one was looking, she laughed and continued as though nothing happened. But if she knew that someone was keeping an eye on her, a loud crying fest was ensured until she was picked up and cooed over. Only Shuryo still fell for that trick, rushing over to fawn her at a moments notice.

For a baby, she was pretty damn cunning.

_..oo0oo.._

Autumn rolled by with falling leaves and colder weather, paths covered thickly with dried up leaves, with many woodland creatures getting ready to either hibernate or migrate. It was also this time of the year when Hinoiri's first birthday rolled in.

For the child's first birthday, Konan decided to host a small birthday bash, with no streamers and balloons and such. A tiny store bought cake was collected that day, along with some little trinkets. It was a rather quiet birthday party too, with just Konan, Shuryo and Kisame. Kakuzu had left on a solo mission not too long ago, neither Sasori or Orochimaru bothered to show up, Zetsu was out doing... stuff, and Pein, well.. Just had better things to do, as he shut himself up in his Amegukere's office, totally ignoring all the festive spirit around him. Not that Konan minded too much, a quiet party was good for Hinoiri's first, or as quiet as a party could get with Shuryo as a guest.

"Happy birthdayyy, Noiri'chan!" He squealed, hugging her tightly. "Look what Shuryo-san git you. See? It's a fishy friend for Kin-chan! Usa-chan picked it out for you!" He wriggled a small stuff fish in front of her. "You should say thank you to Usa-chan! See how pretty it is-Hey! Don't bite it!" She shouted, pulling the fin out of her mouth. Hinoiri whined.

"Chill. It's not like it's your rabbit or anything, it's her's now, she can do anything with it. Oh, here's your present, kiddo." Kisame handed over a small wrapped box. Tearing through the colourful wrapping paper, Hinoiri squealed when she came face to face with a rather sharp kunai which was bigger than her arm. Kisame chuckled, petting her head as Konan snatched the kunai out of her hands before any harm befell on her, ignoring he murderous glance that the kunoichi was giving him.

Shuryo stuck his tongue out at his fellow ex-kiri Nin, turning to Konan. He asked, "What did'ja get, Konan-san?"

Said lady placed a finger to her lips, smiling mischievously "It's a secret." She looked towards the small pile of presents in the corner, wrapped nicely with a rather big bow. She hoped Hinoiri liked books.

"Aww... Oh! Oh! Can we cut the cake now? Please Konan-san! Please!"

The kunoichi shrugged, lighting the candles. "I don't see why not.."

They didn't sing (mostly because they couldn't remember the tune); they just greeted Hinoiri, not that she minded anyway. Konan tilted Hinoiri to the cake, to make her blow. She was confused on what to do, until Shuryo started chanting her to blow. She tried to; the flames flickering a little but refusing to face away. Her mother laughed before pitching and blowing the flames off in one swift motion. "Happy birthday, Noiri-chan." She stated with a warm smile on her face as she shifted Hinoiri once more, planting a kiss her cheek."You're too cute." Konan stated honestly, as Hinoiri tried to wipe it away. Her attention began to focus on Kisame as he started cutting the cake, or tried to. Shuryo had removed the candle quickly.

"CAAAAAKKKKEE!" He exclaimed excitedly, grabbing a platter and utensil. "Me first!" claiming dibs.

"Eh? No, let the kid eat first. You can have your turn later." Kisame pushed him away. "Here, Konan-San." she nodded her thanks as he passed her a piece of cake.

"I want some cake! I haven't ate it in such a long time! Baka-same!"

"Keep it up, and I'll make sure this cake is the last thing you eat." Kisame said casually, as if being asked about the day's weather, pointing the knife at Shuryo.

Ninjas took their death threats rather seriously, so immediately he quieted down. But it was impossible for Shuryo to keep quiet for more than a minute.

"Konan-San, when is Hinoiri's actual birthday?" Konan shook her head, she did not know the answer as much as he did.

Neither members knew when Hinoiri's real birthday was. It was just as much as a mystery as who were her real parents, so Konan just decided to put it on the thirtieth of September, the day she met her.

To tell the truth, Konan couldn't believe one year had already gone by since the Akatsuki adopted Hinoiri. It was all too fast. One moment she was a monkey looking thing, the next thing she knew, she was already walking. It was a bitter sweet feeling, to know that her little girl was growing up, and someday, in the distant future, would be a fine young lady.

But for now, she smiled inwardly as she spooned in a mouthful of cake, she'll just continue to enjoy Hinoiri's first birthday.

_..oo0oo.._

_Year 2_

At two years old, little Noiri-chan could do what almost all toddlers could do. She could walk steadily, she could eat (messily) by herself, she could put on her own clothes, and could help Konan do little things. But, unlike most toddlers, she still could not talk.

At first, Konan was worried about this, what if her daughter had been involved in some catastrophe when she had been away and was now unable to speak? It was prove false when Hinoiri went around the house crying over her lost stuff toy. It was found later on buried deep in the dustbin with a few kunai embedded in it's head. Konan had yet to find the culprit.

Still unable to find out the reason on Hinoiri odd behaviour, she decided to check it up with a child raising handbook. The only logical explanation they gave her was that it was a phase to be gotten over for kids her age. It did nothing to ease her worried heart. Konan closed the book after being unable to find any answers, yet even more worried.

What if it wasn't a phrase? What if it was something serious? What if-

"There's nothing wrong with your baby, Fujimoto-San." Kaori said to a worried Konan, examining Hinoiri. "It's perfectly normal for children her age to go into this phrase. She's just not ready to talk yet, or probably doesn't feel like it. Give her some time, and she'll talk sooner or later." Kaori bent down to Hinoiri's height, giving her a firm look. "You be good for your Mama, ok?" Hinoiri look away briefly from her stuff goldfish, before nodding vigorously. "Har guah." she said.

Konan did feel slightly more relief, but as the days drag into weeks, and the weeks dragged into months, Konan could feel once again the anxious feeling which gnawed her stomach..

"Come on Noiri-chan! Say Shuryo! Say it, say Shuryo!" Said person cooed at her one Friday morning at the breakfast table. Konan put her hands on her hips, an annoyed look on her face.

"Shuryo, get of the table." she said, nudging him off, setting a few plates on it after she manage to successfully got him off. turning to Hinoiri, she asked. "Hinoiri, do you want porridge or Fruits?" the child pointed at the bowl of ripe watermelons. "Fruits it is." and proceeded to cut the fruit to small square pieces.

"Good morning, Chibi-chan." Kisame greeted, popping out suddenly, usual smile on his face. Ruffling her short blue hair, as he sat next to her. "Ah. Thank you." he graciously accepted a cup of tea from Konan.

"Still not talking, is she?" the blue man asked, taking a sip of tea, Gagging on it. "What is this shit?"

"No, she's still not." Konan's voice replied from the kitchen. "And don't curse in front of her, she does not need to learn any more bad words-"

"Mmmmm..." Hinoiri tried. She just finished her watermelons, and was trying to catch Konan's attention. She dumped a few pieces on the floor when Konan didn't turn in her direction.

"She's not speaking anyway, what's the difference?" Kisame answered back.

"Maaaaaa..."

"She will learn to speak eventually, you know. And by then, she'll know enough of all these filthy words that you guys use to make any old lady faint-"

"Maaa..Maaa.." Both ninjas look at her.

The toddler smiled, glad to catch both ninja's attention. "Mama!" she banged her bowl on the table.

Konan came closer to her, and carried her out of her high chair, examining her closely. "Do you want some more watermelons?"

Hinoiri nodded.

"Are you still hungry?"

She nodded again.

Konan felt a smile tug on her lips.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Shuryo cried out from under the table.

"Life isn't fair, deal with it." Kisame shook his head.

Ignoring the other two, Konan couldn't help but to swell in pride. She was her little girl's first word.

_..oo0oo.._

"Potty training...? What's..that?"

Shuryo asked looking up from his book, tilting his head slightly at the foreign word Konan had just mention. He had just returned from a mission just hours ago, and was relaxing in the living room. Kakuzu had probably went to give the reports to leader, before turning in for the day. But not Shuryo, he had enough energy to run a whole city, even after missions.

Konan sighed, "It's when babies are trained to use the toilet instead of their diapers. Kaori-San said that two years old is the best time to do it." she continued to scrub the table, eyebrows furrowed, where were all these stains coming from? She had got to catch that culprit..

"Eh? You have to train the babies to use the toilet?" he asked, stunned. "You mean they don't sort of learn it by themselves?"

"No, Shuryo, they don't. Now put your feet of the table." He swung his feet off, and leaned in closer to Konan, scratching his chin.

"I see. I think I have a few dog books upstairs, they might be teaching how to toilet train too.."

"Shuryo, Hinoiri's a human being, not a dog." Konan glared at him.

He gulped."Ah right..." he scratched the back of his head. "Heh. Sorry..Ohmygod, don't kill me!" he cowered under a glare, blocking it with his book.

"As sorely tempted am I to Give into this temptation, no." she huffed in irritation at the mud tracks which were stuck to the table. "Don't they ever come off?"

"USA-chan says that Konan-san should try using-Baka-same! Are you wet?"

"Nope." Kisame entered the room, dripping from his head to toe and covered with blotches of toilet paper. "I'm so dry that my lips are cracking.. God." And he practically threw an equally wet Hinoiri at Shuryo.

There goes the floorboards, and it had just been cleaned too.

Konan stood up, placed her hands on her hips. "Hinoiri, sweetheart, what did you do this time?" she asked, her lips turning downwards into a frown. As much as she had hope not, Hinoiri had definitely caught onto Shuryo's mischievous side. Hopefully, it would just be a phrase that all kids went too. Which Konan wasn't too sure about.

Hinoiri froze for a fraction of a second, before started to shake her head furiously, looking more like a wet puppy than ever. Shuryo laughed loudly, and ruffled her messy blue locks.

"She didn't mean any harm, did'ja Noiri-chan?" Hinoiri nodded so vigorously her head might have fell off. She met Shuryo's gaze and they both broke into identical grins. The kunoichi inwardly shuddered. That was..creepy.

Sighing, Konan picked her up. "You're such a liar, too bad you aren't any good at it." She shot Shuryo a dirty look before turning to Kisame. "I take that operation introducing her to the toilet didn't work so well?"

Hinoiri tugged her sleeve. "Not toilet, potty." Konan ignored her.

"All she did was play with the sink and threw the soap around. She wouldn't even go near the toilet bowl." Kisame answered. "Said something about someone coming out from the toilet or something."

"Perhaps she's scared of the toilet? I know I was." Shuryo cut in. "The flush was like some kind of monster.."

"But that's you, not the kid.. She can't be afraid of a toilet bowl." Kisame shot back at him, arms crossed across his wet chest.

"Potty, Same-San! Potty!" The child's high voice rang somewhere on his right.

Konan frowned, setting the grey rag in her hand down, eye brows furrowed. "I doubt it, she seem pretty fine when I showed it to her last week. She didn't scream at all."

"Pooootty, Pooootty! No toilet! Potty!" Hinoiri stomped her foot, catching the attention of all present members. Konan patted her head, "Yes, honey. It's a potty." Hinoiri nodded her head, pleased that the adults finally said it right.

Shuryo got up from the shabby couch, and stretched, easily placing his palms on the wooden floor board before springing right back up, making him look more like a cat than ever.

"I'll try next. Noiri-chan," the child froze for a moment, before looking expectantly up at him with wide violet eyes, resembling a dog more than ever, "Would'jyu follow me to the toi-ah, potty for a moment please." he said, offering his most charming smile, extending his hand to her. When he saw she hesitated, he continued, putting on his most serious of faces. "There are many magical fishies in the potty which would be attacked by the big bad unicorn, and USA-chan needs your help to stop it. Would'jyu want to-" he didn't have to say anything else as the tiny child whizzed past his legs and towards the bathroom.

He gave the two stunned members a triumphant smirk, before he went to catch up with Hinoiri.

"Now, in order to save the fishes, do you know what you have to do?" he crouched down to see Hinoiri eye to eye, despite still being a head taller than her. She shook her head.

"Well, you must be a big girl to save the rainbow fishies." Upon her clueless face, he knelt down on the cool tiled floor and whispered into her ear.

"Eww!" she whined. Taking one more look at the toilet, then back at Shuryo, she gave him a firm look. "No go."

"But the fishes are in great danger, and USA-chan is afraid of unicorns! Don't'jyu want to save the magic fishes?" he said.

"Yes.." she stuck her thumb into her mouth.

Shuryo placed a hand on her head, ruffling her short blue hair. "Well, then you must be a big girl and use the potty. Mama and Shu use the potty. Don'tjyu want to be a big girl?"

Hinoiri mumbled something through her thumb.

Shuryo, taking her anwser as a yes, picked her up and set her on the toilet bowl."Then you should try it out, come on. Just for a bit."

Hinoiri freaked."No! No use potty! No, no, no!" she screamed, kicking Shuryo in the stomach. The white haired man quickly brought her down

"..Noiri-chan?"

"Noiri-chan.." her bottom lip wobbled, tears starting to well up in her eyes. She gave the elder a pitiful gaze. "..No wanna be big girl.."

Shuryo stared at her, slightly confused. She had always wanted to grow up so fast. What was happening now? He brought her into an awkward hug. "Shh.. Don't cry, Hinoiri. Shh.." he rubbed comforting circles on her back murmuring softly into her ear till her sobs turned into sniffles. He gave her a smile. "Now, tell me why don'tjyu want to be a big girl. I thought you wanted to be a big girl like Mama?"

"..Noiri-chan wanna be like Mama." she whimpered. "..But Noiri-chan no want Mama to go away. Noiri-chan no want Shu, Same and Kakuzu-San to go. Noiri-chan no want no one go." she gave another sniffle. "..Noiri-chan no wanna be alone."

"Where had'jyu heard all these things..?" Shuryo asked, his grip on her tightening.

Her red rimmed eyes met his, testy violet eyes which he knew so very well. "Scary man say." she burrows herself deeper into his dark cloak, holding unto him as though she was too afraid that he'll disappear the moment she loosen her grip. "Scary man say.. When Noiri-chan is big girl, he take everyone away. Shu.." she bit back a sob.

"..Yes?" he whispered back.

She shot him the most pitiful gaze she could muster. "Don't wanna be alone."

The entire bathroom went deathly quiet, the only sound being Hinoiri's sobs.

"Hinoiri, look at me." Shuryo said after a long time. She hiccuped. "Look at me." he turned her gaze towards himself. "I don't care if you're a big girl or a baby, not even the slightest. Because no one, no one, is ever going to separate you from me. We're going to stay beside you forever, even after we're gone. You must always remember that."

"But.. how can Shu b-be with Noiri-chan when Shu is gone?" she asked.

Shuryo placed a hand on her chest, taking her hand and placed it on his as well. "Do you know what's over here?" The child merely shook her head, he smiled softly. "It's your heart, Hinoiri. Every time we're gone, anyone for that matter, always remember that we're in your heart, and we're always with you, no matter what happens." he placed his forehead against her's, smiling reassuringly. "We're family, afterall. Nothing's more important than being together."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Pinky swear?" He rubbed her few final tears away.

"Pinky swear." he said firmly. Both little fingers intertwined together. "It's a promise.." Hinoiri smiled.

"..Shu?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's save the magic fishies."

_..oo0oo.._

"..How long is she going to act like that?" Sasori asked, looking up from his latest puppet, inwardly twitching. Kisame shook his head, just a few feet away from him on the old couch, sighing. "I have no idea.."

"It has to stop by now." Sasori huffed, crossing his arms and placed the puppet's fingers down on the floor. "This has been going on weeks now. And it's not the slightest bit funny."

"You know how Konan feels about this.. She thinks it's the funniest thing ever." Kisame replied, settling himself into a more comfortable position. "Damn thing.." he glared at the lumpy sofa before turning his gaze back to the other. "It's best not to provoke her now.. It is her..err.._That_ time of the month.."

Sasori scoffed. "Well, who cares about what she thinks. It's not like we volunteered to take care of the brat. Besides," The puppet turned to face the taller of the two. "Doesn't this annoy you?"

The duo looked at the tiny figure of an almost three year old Hinoiri. Running around the base, screaming at the top of her voice. "Look, Kisame-San! Noiri-chan birdy! Noiri-chan can now fly!" she said, flapping her arms. "Noiri-chan is going to be a birdie when Noiri-chan is big!" she giggled, and continued to run around the base. "Uwah!" she tripped over, "Ouchies.." she moaned. "Noiri-chan fine!" she called out as she rubbed her chin.

Kisame shook his head. "Nah, not really. Just used to it, though. But then I realize she's just a kid and probably doesn't know any better." he flashed a toothy smile at a waving Hinoiri, who had waved to him.

Sasori gave him a long analysing look. "If I didn't know any better, I'll say you've change."

The blue man raised an eyebrow. "Really, how?"

"I'll say you've gotten a lot more softer. You were never really liked this. You even smile more now."

Kisame sat there stunned for a moment, before bursting out into laughter. "Haha..Hahaha! You're hilarious." his smile widened. "Yeah, I guess you're right.. I'm getting too soft now. Heck, it's kinda scary now that I think about it. Me being like this.. But, I guess it's not too bad..."

"Not too bad?" Sasori shot him an incredulous look. "This softness could cost you your life, you know. You could be jeopardize an entire mission because of your soft heart. You could even get killed by the child you had once saved from an early death."

"Yeah, I do know that. But it's a nice change. From this depressing place. Like a breath of fresh air, you know? From the dark world we live in. Besides," he got himself into a more comfortable position on the couch, folding his arms across his chest. "It's not like we see happy faces everyday in this gloomy organization."

"It's better to expose her to the real world earlier than later. She'll won't take it so hard that way. Isn't Leader-sama going to start training her when she's old enough?"

"..Perhaps. But I want to give her a childhood, and she's only a toddler, Sasori-San. Konan and Shuryo probably want to too. A childhood that we never had.." Kisame closed his eyes. "Let her enjoy it while she still can."

Sasori turned towards the small figure skipping around the base, flapping her arms, shouting at the top of her voice about being a bird. The laughter, the smiles, the joy. Everything she had which he had never got a hold of.

He hated it. He hated the everything she did. He hated her laughter, her smiles, her annoying habits.

He hated the child.

And nothing was ever going to change that fact.

_..oo0oo.._

_Year 3_

The fading rays of the setting sun was leaving quicker than usual, hints of the dark blue sky becoming more and more prominent by each passing second as the forest got darker, ready to engulf the entire land with inky darkness at any given moment. Thin Wisps of fog had started to settle down on the deserted treetops, hanging unto the branches firmly like a lover. The first few lights of the twinkling stars begun to peaked through, along with the round full moon.

Night had finally fallen across the valley, after another tiring day.

Unfortunately, not all of the inhabitants were tired. Amidst the trees and large ferns, there lay a lone house right in the middle of the forest, where fearsome ninjas live. The animals knew to never cross paths with them and avoided the humans like a plough.

But ninjas got tired too. Even the strongest, fastest of them needed rest to. The Akatsuki was a part of them. Getting ready for bed every night was a bit of a hassle and involved a catastrophe or two, but somehow or rather, they all always got to dreamland before midnight, tucked under their covers.

However, one little child just couldn't seem to sleep that night.

"No bath!" Hinoiri hollered loudly, both arms crossed firmly across her chest, trying her best to look as intimidating as possible as she glared at Kakuzu. It was Kakuzu's turn to give the child a bath that week, and it was just his luck that he got her in one of her moods. What _great _luck he had.

"It's nine, Hinoiri. You're suppose to be in bed by now, clean and in your sleeping wear, tucked under your covers and dozing off. You will get in that bathtub now or I swear that I'll dump you into a volcano." The masked nin growled. The child continued to meet his harsh glare with her own, before finally softening her eyes.

"Want mama.." she said, fidgeting with her long sleeve.

Kakuzu pinched the bridge of his nose. "For the last time, Konan will be back by the time you're in bed. It'll be too late by then for you."

"You know, Kakuzu-San." Shuryo mumbled from behind the counter he was scrubbing. "That is pretty harsh. She's just three, you know."

Kakuzu shot his partner a sharp look. "It's all your fault that she's up so late, you idiot. You just had to cook dinner, had you? And you just had to blow it up. Unless you can somehow or rather make time stop, I suggest you shut the hell or you'll be joining the brat for a swim in the volcano. And you," he grunted at the toddler. "are going to have a bath and go to bed, whether you like it or not." He stretched forth and grabbed the child at surprising speed, tucking her under his arm, ignoring her whines and kicks.

"No bath! No, no, No!" she screamed at the top of her voice, ramming her small fist against Kakuzu's broad back. The elder didn't even feel anything.

"Stop acting like a child, you brat." he grumbled, and realize that she was still a child.

When they finally reached the bathroom, Kakuzu tossed her onto the spotless tiled floor, hastily closing the room door before Hinoiri attempted to make another quick escape. Quickly and efficiently, he took her clothes off and filled the bathtub with water, plopping Hinoiri in swiftly after checking the temperature.

"Kakuzu-San! Cold, very cold!" she struggled against him, splashing water everywhere. "Let Noiri-chan out! Let out, let out, let out!" He kept the failing Hinoiri down by firmly placing his hand on her head. "Shut up and suck it up. It's not that bad." Was the man's reply. He poured some water on her head, deciding it was damp enough before starting to apply the shampoo. Hinoiri continued to struggle against him, splashing water everywhere, eventually getting some shampoo in her eye.

"Ow! Ow! No touch!" She started to whine even louder.

Kakuzu wasn't a very patient man, he wasn't the type to be able to take little children and their bratty behaviour he wasn't one to hold back his anger to those who deserve it. He was a ninja, for God's sake! A S-rank ninja who killed with no remorse, who crushed thousands and Manage to go against the first Hokage. He hated people looking down on him, their gaze cringing at his face. He hated it. He hated people with a burning passion. His vision went red, all he could think about was blood and flesh, and how good it would have felt to wring his hands around the brat's neck, the joy of snuffing the life out of someone. Oh.. It has been so long.. So very long..

A loud crunch of a crushed shampoo bottle and a small whimper brought him out of that state.

The shampoo bottle was dented, it's insides spilling out, and there was a crack on the tiled wall, probably from when he punched it. A small feeble sob caught his attention. He looked downwards, and saw Hinoiri curled up in a tight ball in one corner of the tub, refusing to meet his gaze, a large red hand print on her back.

Kakuzu sighed, and gently brought the child closer to him. Her eyes were slightly red from the shampoo. Hinoiri sat quietly in the tub, reluctantly allowing Kakuzu to massaged her scalped gently, careful not to get shampoo in her eye. He proceeded to scrub her body clean from any type of filth, ignoring her soft whines as he scrubbed her. She still refused to meet his eyes. The masked member's gaze hardened for a moment, before it was smothered back into an impassive expression.

Once done with that, he carried her out and rigorously dried her with a towel, her muffled yelps rang through the tiled room. He then carried her out and proceeded to dress her into her cherry pajamas.

"Put your hands up.." he said, she obediently complied to him as he pulled her shirt over her head, putting one leg at a time into her trousers, later on sat quietly on the set of chest drawers as the masked nin combed her hair.

Hinoiri was still avoiding his eyes. Each time he touched her, he felt her stiffen, her eyes followed each movement of his carefully, small frame tense to make a quick escape in case he got angry again.

It wasn't the first time she saw him get angry, but it was the first time he got angry at her.

"Kakuzu-San, what that?" Hinoiri asked, softly tugging his sleeves, her index finger pointing at the window. Kakuzu came closer, his flat stomach in contact with the drawers, he placed a hand on the window and squinted his eyes.

"Those are fireflies." He replied. "You can only see them at night. Ever seen them before?"

Hinoiri shook her head. "Only heard before." she placed both hands on the window and brought her face nearer. "Pretty.." She marvelled at the way they seem to glow in the dark, lighting up the entire forest. One firefly flew past, she motioned to grab it, only to bump into the piece of glass separating her and the outside world.

For minutes, the duo just silently stayed there, not moving even an inch, observing the dark blue sky outside. Neither of them spoke a word.

"Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?" Kakuzu asked, facing the toddler. She shook her head and looked back at the fireflies outside. Kakuzu sighed. "Then don't stare at people like that, it's rude." Hinoiri mumbled a reply. He rolled his eyes.

Less than a minute late, Out of the corner of the eye, Kakuzu caught her staring at him again. "Ok, why are you staring at me? Do you have something you want to say?" she shook her head.

Kakuzu crossed his hands, a frown forming behind the mask. " You are a terrible liar. Come on, just say it. I won't hurt you any more." Hinoiri gaze at him with her large eyes, inwardly having a conflict.

"H-How.. How did Kakuzu-san get ouchies on face?" she blurted out, and cowered away when she saw his expression darken.

"Ask Konan." his low voice shook her bones.

"Mama won't tell." she replied, she looked shyly away from the angry man in front of her. Kakuzu turned his back on her and walked towards the door. "She wants me to tell her myself, eh?" He muttered.

"Ask Konan again. Tell her I didn't tell you." he told her over his shoulder, and slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Hinoiri sitting on top of the drawers alone, hand still trying to clutch the tiny firefly outside.

_..oo0oo.._

If there had anything Kisame took pride in himself, besides his monstrous strength, was his height. He love being tall, it made everyone else seem like midgets, it made him feel great, it made him feel powerful. He could intimidate enemies with it, he could look out for danger easily, and he could also eat more without feeling overly conscious.

Kisame was very, very proud of his height.

And currently, lying face flat on the couch in a messy living room whilst a tiny toddler jumping on him wasn't something he was proud of. Especially since said toddler barely even reached his knees.

Life was just like that. Tiny midgets stepping over their giant other parts. He inwardly chuckled at their foolishness, trusting big dangerous creatures such as himself to not rip them to shreds while they pissed all over him.

"Kisame-San! Kisame-San! Where Shu?" Hinoiri asked, shaking his shoulders. "Kisame-San?! Are you home?" she hollered into his ear.

"No, I'm not at home. Now go bother someone else." he grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and dropped her on the ground. Hinoiri got up and pouted.

"Kisame-San! Where Shu? Noiri-chan wants Shu!" she climbed right on top of him again, and proceeded to pull on his hair. "Kisame-San! Noiri-Chan wants Shu!"

Kisame shook her off his back."He's not here, he's on a mission, remember? Now stop bothering me. Go play with your toys or something." he stifled a yawn. And covered His face with a pillow. He gave a sigh of relief when the child skipped away. Finally, peace and quiet.

Hinoiri knew a lot about her family. She knew that if Shuryo would always fall sick if he stood under the rain for too long, she knew how touching Kakuzu's money was forbidden, she knew mama always got stomach aches before she got cranky, and she knew that to never, _ever_ disturb Kisame when he was sleep deprived. Shuryo had thought her that first hand when he got beaten into a pulp when trying to get Kisame to wake up.

She went into her room, took some colour pencils and a few pieces of paper, and skipped into the living room again. She stole a few pillows from the couch, and threw them on the floor, before lying down on her stomach. She looked hard at the piece of paper laid before her, wondering what to draw.

Kisame snorted in his sleep, and turned to his left, mumbling something in his sleep. She looked at him for a moment and back at the paper again. Aha! She'll draw Kisame!

Crudely grasping her blue colour pencil, she proceeded to draw Kisame's frame, pausing from time to time to look at him. She squinted her eyes, trying her best to take in every single detail of his face. Then it hit her, why on earth was Kisame blue?

She pondered about this for a while, setting down her pencil. She placed her cheek on her hands, slowly kicking her legs back and forth. Hmmm...

Maybe he painted himself blue on accident? Neh, Kisame-San wasn't that big of a dummy. Perhaps he did not get enough o-zy-gen in his mama's tummy? That could happen.. Hinoiri gasped, suddenly jumping up. She hesitantly touched the strange lines on Kisame's face.. Gills! Only fish had gills! The child scrunched her face, did this mean that Kisame-San is part fish. She shuddered, hope not..

Deciding to ask Kisame that later, she went to finish her drawing. It took a while longer, but finally, she was done! Holding up her drawing to admire it, Hinoiri smiled to herself before placing the picture on the messy coffee table, under some book. The picture of the lady on the cover caught her attention.

Said woman had long brown curly hair, dress in what Hinoiri could only guess was a very revealing swim suit, lying on top of some... Guy (she assume it was a guy), having this very creepy look on her face. Like when Kisame read this orange book once. Her face was red, and somehow, she look rather hot. The 'guy' holding the lady had this rather weird smirk on his face, and was touching the lady's not-very-well-clothed chest.

Curiosity overwhelm her. She had seen only glimpses of books like this in the past. But Konan always stopped her before she could read it, and then went to yell at some random member. She wondered what was in this book that made Mama so mad. Flipping it open, she quietly sat down and read it, pausing from time to time to cock her head to one side or frown in confusion, often times both.

Five minutes stretched into ten, which slowly turned to fifteen. Finally, Hinoiri got up from her seat, dusted her green shirt, and slam the book shut. She didn't really get what was in the book. Stuff like sex and b-bondage.. What on earth is a penis? Perhaps she should ask Kisame about it too..

The soft rumblings of her stomach brought her out of her thoughts. She place a hand and rubbed her tummy, she was feeling rather hungry.. Taking one look at Kisame told her he wasn't going to wake up any time soon, especially when drool was dripping out of his mouth and unto the couch. She made a mental note to never sit there again.

Scurrying over to the kitchen after she kept all her remaining papers and pencils in their respective, she opened the door of the fridge, scanning through it to see what she should munch on. Leftovers, cabbages, half a jar of jam... She peered at the bottom half of the fridge. Tomatoes, carrots and some rotten oranges. She blanched, and close the fridge quickly.

Maybe the pantry would give her a better haul. Looking both ways first (the members tended to screamed at her whenever they saw her doing this) she proceeded to climb onto the spotless drawer tops, knocking over a small bottle of vinegar as she uneasily got to her feet. "Uh oh.." she muttered, but eventually shrugged it of.

Pulling open the doors, she pushed away various boxes of health bars and cornflakes, finally receiving her fruits of determination. Behind a box of cornpuffs, a packet of cookies was found, which were hastily grabbed.

Climbing down from the kitchen top like a squirrel, she opened the package with only some difficulty, and proceeded by savouring the chocolate goodness. Mmhm... So good..

Five pieces of chocolate chip cookies were gone in a flash, Hinoiri licked her lips and her fingers for crumbs, before disposing the packet. Satisfied for the time being, she stood on her toes as she washed her hands on the sink.

As she Scrubbed her hands, over in the living room, she heard Kisame snort, followed by some yawning and the sound of fallen pillows. He was probably going to wake up soon.

Suddenly, an idea came to her. She should make Kisame some tea! She tried it before, and Mama had said she did it well. She smiled to herself, grabbed a cup and went to fix a cup of tea for Kisame-San.

By the time the cup of tea was placed on a coaster on the coffee table, Kisame was starting to stir. His nose twitched, the smell of green tea invading hid nose.

"Whuzatsmell?" he asked, getting up. He yawn widely, showing off his set of sharp teeth.

"Good afternoon, Kisame-San!" Hinoiri chirped. She was building a tower with her blocks just a few feet away from him. The kid was standing on tippy toes, her fingers stretched as far as they would go for her to place the final block at the top. The tower was taller than her, though the large base gave it more support. Hinoiri must have figured that out, smart kid.

"What's that smell?" he asked, sniffing the air. Her face brighten up and she bounded over immediately.

"Noiri-chan made Kisame-San tea! Try!" A large cup of green tea was pushed into his hands, warming his large hands. It looked.. Normal. The shark man turned to the toddler.

"Did you do this by yourself?" she nodded. He looked back into the cup, An endless pool of minty green seemingly stretched forever in his eyes. It looked safe, but something was nagging him about how it was better if he did not drink it. And like all ninjas, he always trusted his instincts. Bad feelings had a terrible habit of being write after all.

Kisame placed a hand on Hinoiri's head, ruffling up her hair. "Oh really? Thank you." Hinoiri smiled even wider. "But how did you make it?"

"Noiri-chan put tea leaves into the cup, then add water." she replied. Kisame sniffed the liquid once. Nothing wrong with it. But what was that voice in his head nagging him about?

"Kisame-San no want tea?" She asked, grin sliding of her face, eyes getting bigger by the second. She pouted. Shit, she was going to cry, Kisame thought.

"No, no. I was just asking. I'm drinking it now, see?" he brought the cup to his lips and gulped the contents down.

"Goody!" Hinoiri cheered. "Oh, Kisame-san. Noiri-chan can't find net-Thingy, so Noiri-chan used fly beater to take leaves out!" Kisame immediately froze, and turned slowly to the child.

"You use what?" he asked again.

"The fly beater!" Hinoiri repeated. "No worry, Kisame-San. Noiri-chan used the old fly beater!" she chirped."Kisame-San?" she asked, noticing how pale the man suddenly became, his hands shook slightly, and his expression looked clammy. "...Kisame-San? Are you okay?"

Kisame slowly stood up, rather shakily for once, placed the cup down, and made a bee line to the toilet, before he started to empty his stomach.

By the time it was dinner, the story had already spread around the base, making Kisame a laughing stock, in which the blue man could only keep quiet, inwardly promising himself to never drink tea again.

"And that's why I hate children." Sasori muttered to his partner. They were all little hellions in his head.

Orochimaru could only shake his head and laugh silkily. "I don't know, Sasori-San.. I don't know about that.."

Hinoiri, once realizing her mistake, had apologized profusely to Kisame. Following him around the base the entire afternoon to see if he was really alright. After being lectured by Konan on proper utensil use, she was forced into promising that she would keep away from any cooking unless there was adult supervision.

"It'll be much safer now, Kisame. She just promise. I heard it with my own ears." Konan told Kisame through his room door, the shark nin had been camping there for the past few hours, refusing to go out.

"That's what they all say!" his muffled voice sounded. Konan sighed, and turned away, giving up on persuading Kisame. She still had dinner to make. Besides, Kisame will come down by dinner time, he always did.

Somewhere around six, most of the members were seated around the table as Konan placed a bowl of steamed Broccoli next to the soup on the dining table. True to her word, Kisame was there, seated as far from the fly beater as possible.

"Now that we are all here, let's eat." Konan said, standing up to get a serving of stew for Hinoiri and herself.

"Thank you, Mama!" she chirped, gladly receiving it."Oh, mama! I learn a new word today! I don't know the meaning though.."

"Bet she finally learned the word shut up.." Sasori muttered. Konan shot him a dirty look and turned to the child.

Konan smiled. "Really What is it?"

"Mama, what's a penis?" she asked. All present members nearly choke on their food. Kisame coughed loudly, choking on a fish bone.

The temperature dropped by fifteen degrees. "..Who taught you that word, Hinoiri?" Konan asked sweetly, her hands shaking. A twitch formed in her left eye.

"I learned it from that book over there!" the child chirped, she ran over to the living room and showed Konan the book. When she saw the older's face darken, she frowned. "..Mama?"

"Kisame.." she turned her murdered amber eyes on him. "Any last words before I kill you?"

Kisame paled. "Shit." and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Konan tore of after him. Hinoiri turned to the other members, still very confuse.

"And that's why," Orochimaru said, facing Hinoiri. "is why I don't read stuff like that." Sasori mumbled something under his breath. "Well, at least not in the open.."

"I don't get it, what's a penis?" Hinoiri asked. Sasori placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll know it someday kid, you'll know it someday.."

"Want to know now!"

"Another day!"

"B-But!"

"Another day. Now shut up and eat."

_..oo0oo.._

"You fold it from this end, to the other, and pull this part out. There, your done!" Konan folded another paper swan, and showed the younger, who clapped excitedly.

"Another! Another!" she cheered. It was somewhere during late afternoon, the time of the day where the sun shone at it's brightest and the most members wanted to do nothing more than laze around. Hot weather did have that effect on people. Currently, both mother and daughter were at the kitchen island, creating a small zoo out of origami, along with various types of other worldly plants.

Konan's lips twitched upwards. "Okay.. Which one do you want now? And stop swinging your feet."

"Umm..." Hinoiri looked thoughtfully at the pile of origami, stopping her kicking legs. "Do a doggy! Mama! Doggy!"

As quick as thought, a paper dog soon appeared on the table. Hinoiri whooped in delight. "Mama the best!"

Konan patted her head. "Do you know how many animals are there?" she pointed at the 'zoo'.

"Err... Wait. Noiri-chan count. One..Two...three...four...five..." This went on for several minutes, with Hinoiri occasionally moving a few animals and starting all over again.

"Fifty-three animals, Mama!" she exclaimed. Looking expectantly at her mother, she asked. "Is Noiri-chan a big girl now?"

The kunoichi petted her head. "Yes, you're a big girl now.." the toddler puffed out her chest. "Would you like to try and fold one?"

"Noiri-chan can?" she gasped.

Konan nodded. "If you want."

She quickly grabbed a few colourful papers. "Noiri-chan want!"

"Okay. Now let me teach you how to fold a paper air plane."

The mother and daughter sat in silence for the next few minutes, with Konan occasionally taking small glimpse at Hinoiri, sometimes helping her out of tight spots.

After a while, the younger was done. "Is this good, Mama?" the wing was slightly crumpled, and the front was bent. But seeing her undeniably hopeful face, Konan nodded anyway.

"Good job." she praised. The child grinned, carefully placing the paper air plane on top of one of the many food containers, and took another piece of paper, determined to do more.

In the midst of the peaceful environment, Hinoiri suddenly turned to her mother and asked.

"Mama?"

"Yes, Hinoiri?" She answered, not looking up from her paper elephant.

"What does adopted mean?"

Konan said nothing for a while, eyeing her elephant with full concentration. "Where did you hear this word?"

"Noiri-chan heard Sasori-San and Kakuzu-San talk about it."

"..I see.."

"Mama? What does it mean? Did Noiri-chan say bad word?"

"No, you didn't" Konan smiled reassuringly at the child. "Hinoiri, I'm going to tell you something very important, so listen very closely." She nodded solemnly as Konan picked her up and placed the little child on a very familiar lap.

"Adopted means.. Well.. Accepting someone, an outsider, into the family. So when someone is brought into a new home to be the new member, it is call adoption. The family adopted the person into their home. Do you understand?" Upon Hinoiri's clueless face, Konan guess she would have to use a more simple example.

"Adopted goes like this. Remember the story of the little girl I had told you about?" She nodded. "remember how at the very end she was brought into the big family and lived happily ever after?" Another nod. "Adoption is just like that. The little girl was not part of the family, but the nice old man brought her in anyway, and she is now part of the family." the blue haired woman explained softly, running her long fingers along Hinoiri's blue hair.

"Noiri-chan adopted too, Mama?"

Konan stiffened for a bit, and brought Hinoiri closer to her. "..Yes. Yes you are." She whispered into her ear.

"Oh.. Okay.." No shock silence or screaming, no dramatic 'how could you?' and walk out scenes. Just a plain old 'okay', as if being told to pick up a fallen pencil.

"Mama, is Noiri-chan a bad girl?"

Konan grimaced. "No, you're not. You're a very good girl.."

The child's face scrunched up in confusion. "Then-Then why? Why Noiri-chan's family no want her? What did Noiri-chan do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, it's they're own fault if they didn't want you." Hinoiri clutched her mother's cloak tightly, breathing in the long familiar scent.

"Don't go.. Mama.."

"I won't. I never will."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"..M-Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

_..oo0oo.._

_Year 4_

"Where do babies come from, Shu?" Hinoiri asked the older one fine day, tugging on his pants leg.

"H-Heh.. Where did you get that question from, Noiri-chan?" He chuckled nervously, trying to shake her off his leg. But she held on it like it was her lifeline, a determine look on her face.

"I was just wondering about it, Shu..' She said innocently, but Shuryo knew that look on her face a little _too_ well. He had a bad feeling about this.

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question, Noiri-chan. Now, why don't we-"

"But Shu is a big kid!" She argued back.

Shuryo winced. "Big kids don't know the answers to all questions. This one is one of them.."

"Kisame-san said Shu will know.." She looked at him with big, wide eyes. The young men inwardly cursed the Shark Nin to the darkest depths of hell.

"I-I really, _really_ don't know, Noiri-chan!"

"Liar. Shu knows." She gave him her big wide eye stare again.

The man sighed. "Fine.. Where did you get the question anyway?" She held out a rather thin hard cover book. Shuryo randomly flipped through it till he reached the page on reproduction. He gagged upon looking at it's two pages of detailed foetuses and reproductive organs and cells.

"A baby is made in the mummy's tummy. When the sperm and the egg meet." He begun, but a look on Hinoiri's face made him stop. "What?"

"Shu was made in Mama's tummy?" She asked, stunned.

"Eh? What do you mean-No! I didn't mean it that way! Konan is not my mother!" He crouched down, looking at her straight in the eye. "I mean, have you ever seen some women with very big tummies?"

Hinoiri's tilted her head to the side, and brought her index finger to her mouth. "Aren't they just fat..?"

"Oh! No. No! They have a baby in their tummies. That's where babies come from, from their mother's tummies." The four year-old was quiet for a moment. Shuryo mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done.

"How does the baby get in the mummy's stomach?" Hinoiri piped up again. Shuryo paled considerably. how the hell was he suppose to answer that one!?

"That's-That's.." He froze, unsure on how to continue. He swallowed. " It happens when the sperm-"

"Joins with the egg. I know, Shu. But where does the sperm come from?" She poked her frozen caretaker. "Shu! Are you alright?" She tugged his sleeve, eyes never leaving his pale face.

"Erm..Noiri-chan. I want you to listen very closely, okay?" She nodded. "When a man and a woman love each other very much, they do.. a funny dance. They do it together. It's a special dance that only they can do. They call upon a stork, which sends the sperms in to the mother's tummy and viola! A baby is born!" He laughed nervously. Hinoiri eyed him unconvincingly, crossing both arms around her chest, just like how Konan does when she was not happy.

Shuryo looked crestfallen for a moment. "I'll tell you, but don't blame me when you get nightmares. Babies-"

"Are formed through marriages." Kakuzu interrupted, walking into the room with a thick folder under his arm. "You've ever heard about that?" He raised an eyebrow. Hinoiri shook her head. "The ceremony where the groom kisses the bride, you little runt." She nodded slowly.

"Is that how babies are made, Kakuzu-san? The sperms come from the man's mouth and into the egg?"

"..Not exactly." Kakuzu answered through gritted teeth as Shuryo fell face flat to the floor, heaving loudly. Kakuzu nailed him in the ribs.

"Then, where do they come from-"

"Babies come through marriage. Do you _understand_?" Kakuzu said it in such a dangerous manner that Hinoiri just nodded even with thousands of questions whizzing in her brain.

"Yes, K-Kakuzu-san.."

"Good." he settled down on a foot stool and placed his thick folder on the coffee table. It creaked slightly under the weight.

"How does the baby come out from the mummy's tummy, Kakuzu-san?" Hinoiri sat next to the masked man.

Kakuzu placed a hand on her head. "That, you have to ask Konan."

"Okay."

_..oo0oo.._

_Year 5_

Sasori of the red sand, the world famous S-rank ninja, creator of hundreds of world-class puppets, was well known by other's for his lack of feelings, cold nature, uncaring attitude and of course, impatience. Mostly impatience. No one in their right minds would even _think _about asking him to care for their children. Suna learned that the hard way when they placed him in charge of a few Gennin during his Jounin days. He was an unstable murderer, after all.

So, why the hell was he in charge of that brat of a child while Konan went on a mission?! That didn't even made sense!

"It's just for a few days. I'll come and picked her up when I'm done. Seriously!" Konan promised him, standing just outside of the other Akatsuki base. When he shut the door in her face, she started banging it again. "Come on, Sasori! It'll be over in a blink of an eye. I promise!"

Sasori opened the door slightly, allowing Konan to see only part of his face. "Why couldn't you just ask Shuryo or Kisame to take care of her? Instead of dragging the brat all the way up to Kumo."

"I told you that they're on a mission. And don't call her a brat." Konan chastised him. Meeting his hard glare with her own, she pushed the cause of the trouble towards the door. Hinoiri immediately scurried behind Konan when the puppet master's fierce glare settled on her, whimpering as she held on the kunoichi's cloak tightly.

"Mama.. Don't go.." She muttered, clutching on even more firmly when Konan tried to get her off. "Mama!"

Konan crouched down and leaned her forehead against her's, "It'll be alright, Hinoiri. It'll be alright." She gave the child a reassuring smile. "Everything will be alright, Sasori will take care of you. It'll be fine."

"Promise me?"

The blue haired woman brushed a few stray strands of hair away. "Yes. I do. Now go in before it get's late. Remember to sleep early. Take care now!" She turned to Sasori. Thanks for everything, Sasori."

"Wait! I didn't even agree to that!" She disappeared before he could catch her, leaving him alone with the tiny child.

Both man and child stayed silent for a minute or so; Sasori stunned by being left with a child in his care, and Hinoiri by being left alone with the scary man.

Sasori gave out a long sigh, and threw open the scratched up door, which squeaked loudly. "You might as well come in now." He said gruffly, grabbing her by her arm and dragged her inside, Konan wouldn't be very pleased if she found out the kid died due to hypothermia. Hinoiri stumbled into the dark house, stifling at the rough treatment as her eyes adjusted themselves.

The first thing she noted about the inside of the other Akatsuki base was that it was rather cold, much unlike the warm and sunny interior of her home. Sure, they were in the northern part of the land of lightning, but this was a new experience for someone who had lived in rather warm weather for almost her whole live. She was finally rather thankful that Konan dressed her up thickly.

Another thing she noticed was that the floor was rather dirty. Clouds of dust seem to puff up whenever she moved, and running her hand over the floor uncovered a thick layer of dust mites. Unlike the cool wooden boards of the main Akatsuki base, the floor here was made of stone, which was rather rough. Random items such as old paper and tin cans littered the hallway, along with broken China. There was even a few Kunais embedded in one of the walls.

One more stark difference between this base and the other would be the atmosphere. It was quiet over here, very quiet. Not the usual peaceful silence, but more of a eerie silence that one would find in a graveyard. The lack of noise and movement sent a shiver down her spine, the fine hairs on her skin rising, she wriggled closer towards the short red haired man, gripping ahold of his air was stale and musty, Hinoiri coughed, eyes watering, it was hard to breathed..

"Let go off me.." Sasori grumbled, shaking the little kid, pulling his cloak out of her reach. "Rule number one on living with me. Don't touch me. Come on." He hissed and motioned for her to follow him through the narrow hallway, which she unwillingly complied, occasionally bumping into pieces of furniture. How the young man could navigate himself so easily was really a mystery to her.

Hinoiri grasp hold of the wooden railings, firmly guiding herself up the steep steps, ignoring how they would shake and creak under her weight. She looked downwards, and saw a spiral of stairs which seemingly went on forever. With just that single moment, she felt fear crept towards her as a thief in the night, stealing every ounce of courage she had. Another shaky step was taken, one which resulted her stumbling back a little. She whimpered, rubbing her aching ankle.

"Rule number two; be quick and fast. I do not enjoy waiting for people, especially brats." He continued to stride on, not caring even the slightest for his charge. "Hurry up. Or I'll leave you behind."

Hinoiri nodded quickly, quickening her pace. "O-okay.. Sorry.." She struggled through the steps for another fifteen minutes or so, trying her best to ignore Sasori's glares and growls. By the time they finally reached the top, Hinoiri was practically crawling. Between the rather intense workout and the dense air, she felt exhausted, and would love nothing more than to curls into a ball and sleep.

Sasori, though, had other plans as he ushered her into his room, not bothering to giving her a breather.

The first thing that came into the young child's mind about her new caretaker's room was puppets. Puppets everywhere. Puppets on the walls, on the shelves, on the tables, on the chairs, they were everywhere, even the ceiling, each and everyone of them staring at her with large soulless eyes. Rows of colourful liquid filled jars took most of the shelf. There was a working table in the middle of the room, along with what looked like a big box of tools. An unused bed sat lonely in a small corner, with a dim naked light bulb dangling over it.

Sasori glanced down at the little child and froze. There was a curious expression on her face as she extended one chubby hand towards one of his poison jars. He strode over and slapped her hand away, "_Never_ touch anything in this room unless you want to die. You don't want to die, do you?" He growled.

Hinoiri's features screwed up as she started to sob, tears spewing down her eyes. Sasori could only scoff in annoyance, walking right past her as he settled at his workspace. He was never one to coddle crying children, Konan wanted him to take care for the little wuss, that he would do. He would show the child how it was _really _like to live with a _real _Akatsuki member.

So thus it was like this for the next half and hour, the missing Nin trying his best to concentrate on his work as he allowed the sobs to go on. It was a little heart breaking to hear them, even for the most battle hardened of ninja. But Sasori wasn't like most ninja, he had wholeheartedly left his feelings years ago. He could kill without even the slightest remorse, without a single ounce of hesitation, which in his mind, was the source of his strength, and a mark for all missing Nin.

Even so, after half and hour or so of hearing snotty kids sob brought great ire to him. He groaned slightly, burying his head in his hands, even his lack of feelings had limits to, too bad it didn't cover over his irritation..

"Can't you just _shut up_!" He shot at the crying child, cringing in disgust when he saw a tear strewn face along with the mucus which overflew from her nose. He tched back at the child, standing up as he grabbed a clean piece of cloth and proceeded to roughly wipe her face. He inwardly sigh, here was he, the great Akasuna no Sasori, creator of the secret red technique, _caring_ for a _baby_. Wasn't this suppose to be a damn woman's job?!

"S-So.. S-Sorry.. Sa-Sasori-san.." Hinoiri replied through hiccups, wiping her eyes dry when Sasori pulled the cloth away. Trying to hold back the tears that usually fell in front of any unsuspecting members, she grabbed hold of Sasori's cloak, and tried to bring herself towards him into an awkward hug. But as the last time, the ninja merely tore her hands off him.

He spat at her acidly. "_Don't_ you ever_ touch_ me again!" When he saw her waterworks start up again, he sighed, and ruffled up his already messy red hair. Caring for children was such an annoying job.. Standing up, he noticed a small and probably harmless rag doll sitting on behind one of his more dangerous puppets. Picking it up, he tossed it at the child.

"Here. Play with this." Hinoiri stop crying almost immediately, curiosity overcoming her, and picked up the small rag toy with tiny hands, and examined it thoroughly It was a small green thing, with button eyes and a stitched on mouth. She smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Sasori san!" She scampered across to the other side of the dingy room, over to the bed, and took out her precious stuff goldfish from her small travel bag. Lying down on her stomach, she started to play with them both, making swishing noises as she made them skid across the floor.

No longer bothered by her sobs, Sasori gave a long sigh of relief and sat down, ready to get back to work. He sat there silently and full of thought, examining blue prints on his latest puppets and taking spare puts from his tool box. Occasionally, he would look up from his puppets to eye the small girl playing with her toys rather excitedly. He boredly raised an eyebrow. It had almost been an hour and she was still going on strong. She caught him looking at him once, and smiled shyly as she waved at him.

"You don't have to pretend to like it so much." He told her, swinging himself to face the child. "It doesn't really matter, anyway." The blue haired kid cocked her head to the side, looking confuse.

"I like it.." She said truthfully, sitting up to stare at him. "Does Sasori-san not want me to like it?"

Sasori was slightly taken a back by her answer eyes widening for a split of a second, which went unnoticed to Hinoiri's untrained eye. "I see.. Carry on then.." He turned back to his unfinished work.

"..Sasori-san..?" she asked, coming towards him hesitantly.

"What?"

"..I'm hungry.." Sasori looked out from his window, throwing back the curtains. The sun had already set.

"Stay here." He ordered her, getting up once again from his work for the umpteenth time that day. "Don't move or touch anything, I'll be back." Hinoiri nodded at him, rummaging through her bag once again to find her set of building boxes. Midori-chan and Kin-chan needed to new castle anyway.

She looked at the doorway where the strange man(?) just left. He was kind of scary, and a little bit fierce. He sort of reminded her of Kakuzu-san. And he sort of gave off an aura that told people that he was older than he looked.

Sasori returned not much later, looking slightly annoyed, with a plate of what looked like mysterious red paste in his hands, along with a glass of milk. "You eat tuna, right?" He asked, setting the plate next to her. "Well, eat up."

Hinoiri looked back at the 'tuna', and back at the puppet master, before settling her gaze back at her dinner again. Sasori growled in annoyance. Slightly frightened, she picked the pair of chop sticks up with fumbling fingers, and clapped her hands together.

"Th-Thank you for the food.." She muttered. And poked the mysterious food with her chopsticks a couple of times, before trying to pick a piece up.

"Hey, you can feed yourself, can't you?" Sasori asked, getting a little impatient as he watched her struggle to eat. She quickly nodded, and placed the 'tuna' in her mouth.

She wrinkled her nose upon swallowing the red paste. "S-Spicy..!" She spluttered through watering eyes, grabbing the cup of milk and proceeded to gulp it down.

"Spicy?" The red haired man repeated. He tried a little bit. "Ahh.. Must be the chilli flakes. You got to suck it up and eat it." Hinoiri looked at him with large violet eyes.

"Spicy.. I want Mama's food.." She said, poking her dinner, pouting.

Sasori frowned, and turned away. Here he was, kind enough to help the little brat and feed her dinner, yet she refused him. "Be that way then.." He said, turning away from her.

She continued to poke her food, looking as pitiful as she could, picking a bit of it up and pressed it between her index finger and thumb, the red paste stuck to her finger like glue. She sniffled, her stomach growling.

The red haired man felt his resolve weakened as he stood up and crouched down in front of the girl. "Would it be okay if it wasn't spicy?" She nodded, not looking at him. "But I don't have anything not spicy.." He said thoughtfully.

"Apple!' She said, catching his attention. He looked at her, surprised. "You eat fruits for dinner?" She nodded again. "Well, if you said so.. Don't touch anything." He left the room, Hinoiri still trying to get the 'tuna' out of her fingers.

"Here you go." He placed the apple in her opened hands. Hinoiri said her thanks again and proceeded to tuck into her meal, munching on the crisp red fruit. Finally at peace, Sasori got back to his work.

It was as if hours had past after the dinner incident, in which Hinoiri no longer interrupted Sasori, leaving him at peace. She continued to play after her dinner, adding a few more stuff animals to her rather elaborate fort.

"What are you doing.. Sasori-san?" She asked, creeping to him. Even with him sitting down, she barely even reached his shoulder, and had to strained her head to see the top of the table.

"I'm working." Feeling more generous than usual, he showed her the puppet he was working on. The blue haired child eyed it with wonder.

"It's cool..." She said in wonder, standing on her toes to see better. "Can I see Sasori-san do it?" she asked pleadingly. When he grunted in response, mentally cheering, she held on the edge of the table to observe the man as he carefully replaced a few parts and added some weapons into the puppet.

"Why.. Are you so interested in this?" He asked her, setting the screwdriver down. "Does it not scare you? Don't I scare you?"

Hinoiri looked thoughtful for a while. "Very cool. I like it." She faced the puppet master again. "Sasori-san scares me a little bit.." She muttered, fidgeting uncomfortably under his emotionless scare. "But Sasori-san is nice! He helps to wipe face.. And give me toy.. A-and.. Give me food.." She smiled softly at Sasori. "Sasori-san is nice.. I'm not lying.." She softly took hold of his cloak again, he shook her off again, though gentler this time.

Unsure how to react to her claim, he awkwardly placed a hand on her head, pushing back a few stray strands from her face. Neither spoke or move, Hinoiri afraid to break this moment of tranquillity between her and the man, as he bore holes into her head with his hazel eyes. "..I think you should go to sleep now, brat.."

"Y-Yes, Sasori-san.." Feeling that it was best not to argue with him, she scampered off to the unused bed, sweeping off a few items to the edge, and threw the covers over herself.

"Goodnight.. Sasori-san.." she wished him softly. He grunted in response. She wasn't really expecting a reply, so rolling over to her side, she silently waited for sleep to over come her..

Sasori said or did nothing as he waited for the child to sleep, finally looking towards the small lump on his bed when he heard her breathing ease. The kid was finally asleep.

"Hinoiri, eh.." He said, picking up the fallen rag doll on the floor. "A strange child indeed.."

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**Ahh! Don't you just love this ending? I know I did! :) Despite this being probably one of the hardest chapters to write, it was probably one of my favourite. I absolutely adored it. I really wanted to be realistic with this story, not the usual babying the kid gets when he/she is adopted by the Akatsuki. So you have to excuse some of the members being jerks, they are the Akatsuki, after all.**

**School is starting soon, so updates might not be so fast. And the fact that it's my major exam year doesn't help too.. Beware, you have been warn!**

**I loveeee reviews! If you review, you'll see your name in my author's notes. So, REVIEW! They are extremely important in the making of a story~**

**Next chapter: 'Tobi' makes a move, and Hinoiri realises her family isn't as innocent as they seem to be..**

**R&R**


	5. Childhood II

**Author's notes**:** Hey there people~ I'm still alive, though for how long, I have no idea. My teachers are dishing out homework as if intending to kill us with them. And along with my librarian duties and student council jobs, I've been busier than ever. The fact that I'll be taking my major exam in October isn't really helping much. PMR kills, people..**

**I'm glad that no one thought that the Akatsuki were even a tad bit ooc, because I've been trying really hard to keep everything as canon as possible, and the fact that they're fine makes me really happy. Though if you do feel that they are out-of-character, feel free to tell me!**

**Thanks to DevilTito, Izaranna, REBELGIRL18, Shoku-Animelover, kayra isis, Tommy298, GEMfaerie, xBUzzOFF15x, and Anobody911 for the favs, alerts and awesome reviews! Here's a free mandarin orange!**

**Anyway****, enough with my notes, here's the next chapter!**

**Random fact #2: Hinoiri was originally suppose to be named Mai, while Shuryo was suppose to be named Hiroto, and Usa-chan was never meant to exist.**

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**When The Jasmine Flowers**

**Chapter 5**

**Childhood ll**

* * *

Hinoiri sighed, swinging both feet back and forth from her seat, small hands placed on her lap, clutching her pant legs tightly, a small placid expression her chubby face. She turned towards the old clock hanging on her left, it was already two in the afternoon, it had been twenty minutes since she last saw Konan entering into the large scary door, the last thing she told her was to sit quietly for five minutes. Mama was never late, and she never lied. If she said she would be back in five, she would be back in five.

Hinoiri's heart clenched for some reason, the feeling of uneasiness crept upon her like a thief in the night as she watched the long thin second hand spin around the numbers for another five minutes, the soft muffled argument coming from the room got more heated as time went on. She never did like it when Konan got mad. But who was the other voice inside? It was deep; definitely a male, though she didn't recognize it at all. It was not Kisame's cheery voice nor Kakuzu's deep bass one; neither was it Shuryo's fast pace slang or Sasori's smooth bored words.

The blue haired child readjusted herself to a more comfortable position on the hard wooden seat, feeling rather chilly as she sat all alone in the large waiting room. She had never entered this room before, it had always been off-limits to her. When she was younger, she had tried to sneak in, though she was always caught before she could enter the room, and was always chided for disobeying her elders. The white room was such a mysterious room, she knew nothing about it, but yet it felt as though it knew more about her. The only thing she did know that this was where her 'family' got send on missions though...

Tap. Tap. Tap..

Ah, she spun to face the near-by tinted window, it was finally raining. She stopped swinging her feet, and slowly slid off her seat as she padded over to the glass window, watching with amazement and wonder as the clear droplets of water plastered against the glass. The girl climbed up one of the benches, and pushed a few stray strands of blue hair out of her face, placing both hands on the chilly piece of glass, gazing towards downpour happening outside. Her warm breath seemingly fog up the glass, each breath disappearing as fast as they appeared.

Rain...

To say the least, she had never really know what to think of the rain. Rain was the neighbouring country from where she lived. Rain was a refreshing thing that cleaned the earth from all it's stains. Rain, her mother always told her, are the tears of all the dearly departed, for they missed all their love ones and friends. And each drop of it was a blessing from the heaven above. And rain was also the way she met Konan, that night, five years ago.

She was always thankful for the rain, for without it, she wouldn't even have met Konan! Nor would she have met Shuryo, or Kisame and even Kakuzu! She was very thankful for the rain.. Very thankful indeed..

But somehow.. She always did feel it was as though rain was the reason why she was separated from her real family..

It was.. strange, the rain made her feel closer, yet also farther from her entire world..

The soft familiar sounds of Konan's footsteps sounded from somewhere behind her, she immediately rushed back into her seat on the uncomfortable bench, trying to look as though she had never moved, smothering all creases on her shorts, and dusting away all the small specks of dust on her grey hoodie. She didn't like disappointing Konan, she didn't like bothering her and being such a burden to her, especially when she had so much trouble to begin with..

The door creaked opened, and Konan's tired and weary face appeared. "Come in, Hinoiri." She beckoned her forward. Hinoiri complied quickly and raced forward into the mysterious room.

The room was clean, cold and fairly dark with no light source except from the tall window. A large table seated in between a few shelves which were loaded with thick leather bound books, a couple of smaller shelves flanked them. A plush maroon carpet lay on the floor, the table in front of her was neat and organize, each and everyone of it's folders and papers were seemingly labelled according to the alphabets. There were no personal belongings in the room. The walls were painted white. And there were no other colours other than red, brown and black.

A modal office.

Hinoiri instantly felt very bored indeed. It was as though she instantly knew that this would be a place of unlimited boredom.

"Ahh.. Hinoiri.. Please, sit down." The same voice which she heard arguing with Konan sounded from the desk. She turned towards it, and saw the silhouette of a young man seated on the swivel chair. The room was too dark for her to see his face, but she felt rather self conscious on the fact that he seem to watch her like a hawk.

"O-okay..." She mumbled, not wanting to anger the new scary man, she complied to his wishes as she seated herself on the tall chair he just pointed to, having a little trying to climb up upon it.

"Do you know who I am, Hinoiri?" The person asked When she had finally settled down. Over his shoulder, Hinoiri could see Konan standing just a feet behind him. She beckoned her to answer his question.

She observe him for a while longer. He did not look nor sound like anyone she knew. "No.. No I don't.." She shook her head. "Am I suppose to know..?"

"Actually.. Yes, you should.." The man replied to her, leaning forward slightly. "I am the leader of this organization which you reside in. I am.. Pein." Just at that very moment, a flash of lightning illuminated the entire room, giving Hinoiri a glimpse of the figure speaking to her. A young man in his prime sat behind the desk, with shocking orange hair and rather pale skin, donning the same cloak that the rest of her family wore. Red clouds against the black cloak. He had multiple piercings on his face, and his eyes.. Hinoiri shivered upon looking at them. They were unlike any other eyes she had ever seen.. An endless pool of silver ripples seem to bore back at her, absorbing her into their watery depths.

He paused for a moment, as if enjoying the effect he had on her. "You are to refer to me as either leader-sama or sir. Do you understand?" His tone was commanding and serious, totally not the person to joke around with.

"..Y-Yes.." Hinoiri seeing upon seeing his slightly disapproving face, she quickly added. "Sir.."

The man's form relax slightly, leaning back into his chair as he latched his fingers together. "So.. Hinoiri.." She perked up at her name. "Tell me more.. About.. Yourself.. Such as your age, dislikes and likes." He added on, noting the clueless look on her face.

The long haired child twiddled her thumbs, refusing to meet the Akatsuki leader in the eye. "W-Well.. I'm f-five.. And-And I like fishes and the colour white.." Her features scrunched up for a moment, bringing her index finger to her lips. "I don't like spicy food and the colour red.. Sir.."

Pein continued to eye her as if she was some animal in the zoo, a rather amuse look on his face. Hinoiri squirmed a little in her hard chair, not enjoying the attention at all. She would have pulled her knees up to her chest, but it was bad manners to do so, and she didn't want the scary man to get angry. He allowed the silence to stretch forth as far as he could, ignoring the poor kid's feelings, he wanted to know a little more about her, and if she was strong enough, training would of course ensure..

"Why do you not like the colour red, child?" His voice soft and alluring, almost persuasive. It was like a fluffy pillow on a bed with stakes, luring her into it's death grasp. The child felt herself easily complying to his will. Konan, who had been standing in the shadows the whole time, frowned. She did not like where this was heading. Pein wouldn't do that.. Hinoiri was just too young..

"Scary.." She replied in a murmur. "Very scary.." She remembered all those times her 'family' members came back from a mission, covered in dried blood from head to toe, often times with rather severe injuries, which were definitely not your average cut or bruise. These injuries look serious, dangerous, life-threatening, and _real_. The way those large gaping holes stuck out always managed to catch her attention, whether she wanted to or not. The members often times tried to mislead her, telling her that they weren't that painful or it wasn't that serious, before sending her off to play with her parade of stuff animals and a pet on the head. Hinoiri was five, yes, but she wasn't an idiot, nor was she deaf. She could hear how they moaned and groaned and cursed during those late nights when she secretly kept up to wait for them to return back, how they would try to quietly creep across her room as they stumbled to the kitchen to get the necessary medications to get better, to make the pain go away. She knew that it hurt, and it hurt very _bad_.

She was two when she started to realize stuff like this happening, all the secrecy and lies. She did not really think much about it when she younger, but now that she was slightly older, she did start to see some rather peculiar things about her fellow members. They weren't like your average family, and sometimes, the things they spoke about really troubled her, such as all those hurtful things they said about others. She had always knew that her family was.._special_. But after observing other families from her brief trips to town, and how they all reacted around each other, Hinoiri started to realize that there was a chance that they were hiding something from her.. Something that had to do with the red thing called.. _blood_.

She hated that colour.. It was such a hurtful colour.. She hated it.. Hated it.. Hated it.. Hated it.. She hated it with all her might, soul, every fiber of her being... She hated that colour so much it hurt..

She hated it.

Pein felt a tiny smirk grace his features, absorbing the tiny scene before him in amusement. The child sat there quietly, deep in her own thought, a dark thunderstorm cloud of anger and despair forming above her head as her thoughts got darker and darker by the second. Her fist curled into a small tight ball, gripping so tight her knuckles turned white. Her expression though, was passive, almost obedient. But the once bright violet eyes had turned so dark, holding none of the previous joy they usually held.

"An ugly colour, isn't it?" He asked, smooth voice jerking her abruptly out of her thoughts. She nodded.

"I hate it.." She muttered, hugging both hands around herself.

Pein looked her in the eye, violet clashed against silver ringed ones. "Would you like to stop it..? To stop seeing this ugly colour? To finally bring peace to the world?" He slammed his fist on the table, causing Hinoiri to jump, and extended it towards her. "Would you like to join me to stop this war?"

She was stun, as she sat there, unsure on what to do and how to react to his proposal. "War..?" She stuttered out.

"Love causes war, which breeds sacrifice, which causes death, and death brings hatred unto all. Hatred, pain, despair.. Would you not want to put an end to all these things? Do stop seeing blood for once and for all?" He extended a hand towards her. "Would you join my quest?"

Hinoiri stared at him. To gain a world with no more pain.. Suffering.. Blood.. To have them wiped of from the face of the earth...

She would do anything to achieve that.. Anything..

"I'll join." She said firmly.

Pein raised an eyebrow at her. "There will be many problems you would face.. Many types of suffering to go through.. Many hurtful things too.. Blood, death and pain.." His gaze bore into her, but this time, she stared willfully back at him, determined. "Are you still willing to join me?"

"Yes, I am. I will do anything to stop it."

"Very well then." The Akatsuki leader got up from his seat, and casually strolled over to her, crooning his neck to look at her small stature. "I will give you the power to be a ninja." he ignored her surprised look. "But pledge your loyalty to me. You will serve no other person but I, and you will help me achieve my goals. In exchange for the power I will give you."

Hinoiri nodded her head. "I promise, sir."

"Good. Tomorrow, be at the hall by six in the morning, your training will start by then. Until next time.. Child."

"Yes.. Sir." She got of her sit too, and exited through the door, feelings of excitement gnawing her stomach. A ninja, wow! That sounded so cool!

She got out of the dark room, and entered into the bright waiting hall, skipping along. She squinted her eyes slightly, unused to the bright light, but it didn't succeed to wipe the wide smile on her pale face.

"The rain has stop.." She murmured, noticing the faint rays of sunlight which shone into the room. The sun was just peaking through the clouds, and everything looked fresher and greener than ever. It looked.. wonderful. Like a renewed hope.

She felt at peace, looking towards the beautiful scene before her, taking in everything. A blue bird perched on the windowsill, singing brightly as it ruffled it's feathers.

Hinoiri wondered if this was how peace would ever look like, and wondered if the world could ever be like that everyday. That would have been very nice..

"Peace..." She said softly, in a dreamlike state as she stared outside.

Peace. Spoken as if it was the most powerful word in the world.

Spoken as if it was the most fragile word in the world.

Peace.

_..oo0oo.._

"H-How.. How.. How could you do that, Pein?!" Konan shot at him, shaking in outright rage. "She's only five! You can't expect to be a ninja?! She wouldn't even survive a day!"

"Kakashi Hatake was a ninja at five and became a Chunnin at six. I don't see why you're making that big of a fuss, Konan." He replied, completely undisturbed by her fuming face, as he sipped his coffee and flipped through a few documents he was supposed to sign.

The Kunoichi wasn't finish yet, she brought her hands down on the table, slamming them so hard it's contents shook. "She is not ready for this, Pein! She's still much too young for this! She-"

The male gave his partner a look. "She is just a mere child who is ignorant of the true world." He cut across Konan's rant. Placing the cup down, he walked over to Konan and placed a hand on her shoulder. "She had to learn now, Konan. She has to learned about it now. Spare the rod, spoil the kid. It would be better if we started off now.. When it would hurt her less.."

"Even so, this-this is just cruel! How can you be ending her childhood at such a premature age?!" Konan said. "How can you take away what she had from her?!"

"I am the God of this world, I can do whatsoever I see as fit." He told her, standing up and walking to her direction, standing so close to each other that they could practically hear their heartbeats. "And you are my angel, who would help me in my road to peace.."

"Nagato.." Konan murmured, unsure on how to reply. She placed her hand on his cheek, caressing them with her elegant fingers.

"Yahiko would have did so too. She should be honoured, to know that she would be a help in my goal.."

"She's-she's so young, Pein.. I can't bear to see her suffer.. I don't want her to go through the things we had to.." Konan replied back to him, a brief voice of tenderness gracing her features. They gaze at each other's face with longing, longing which could never be quenched. "The death and blood, it'll be so hard on her.. She might not be able to pull through.."

"I know.. But it made us stronger.. She's not that weak, Konan.. She will live, as long as you do.. Trust me Konan.." She felt his warm breath against her shapely shoulder blades, she threw her arms around his waist, hugging him closer to her.

"It's not that I don't trust you.." She muttered, hugging him tighter than ever, squeezing him tightly. "I'm just afraid that I'll lose her.."

"You won't, I promised you. She'll be safe." He cupped her pretty face in his rough hands.

"I hope you're right.." Konan felt his long fingers traced slowly down from her cheeks, to her neck and shoulders, and to her forearms, as he brought himself closer and placed a small passionate kiss on her full lips.

"You have no need to hope.." He said, breaking the kiss. "I'm always right. I am the God of this world after all.." He said it so full of hope and faith that Konan found herself believing in it too. She gave him another kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah.. You're right.."

_..oo0oo.._

_Hate..._

_It was such a strong word.._

_It was such a dirty word.._

_Filled with anger, despair, and a strong sense of disgust.._

_It was such a hurtful word.._

_It was such a painful word.._

_And.. When I used it.. It felt.. It felt.. So good.._

_I hate this village.. And everything it has taken away from me.._

_I hate this world.. For every cruel joke it had played on me.._

_I hate.. Myself.. For believing, for just that moment, that everything had finally become alright.._

_I hate it.._

_And nothing was ever going to change that.._

_..oo0oo.._

Kakuzu turned towards the ticking clock hanging on the wall just next to him, one leg extended on her window sill while the other hung loosely by his side, as he sat amidst a parade of stuff animals, sighing in disgust at all it's cuteness. He grunted in annoyance at it, currently, the time read five-thirty in the morning. And the tiny thing was still fast asleep in dreamland.

The man stared at the small figure sprawled amidst her soft blue covers, snoring peacefully beneath them without a care in the world, without a single problem or fear or doubt. Without the constant threat of running for their lives, without a single need to even _care _for anything. To be free of every single one of his problems, to finally be a bird free from it's evil cage, and finally, being able to stretch forth his wings from it's evil clutches and fly towards the blue sky for the first in years..

The feeling of freedom, the anchor in his heart gone at long last, the wind below his tired wings, the great feelings of joy as he soared through the clouds, liberty given unto him to do as he pleased, to finally be _safe_ from the dark clouds..

It would have been really nice.. To know that he need not care about anything, anything in the vast universe, even for just a second..

He shifted slightly, allowing his body to lean even more towards the outside world, right hand brushing against the concrete wall as his left rested upon his flat stomach, tan legs almost touching the ground. A blast of chilly wind whistled in, it would be a rather cold day for sure, he thought, looking onwards as the child curled into an even tighter ball, snuggling even deeper into her warm covers. He, though, sat unmoving on the window sill, totally unfazed by the wind, his thick black coat shielding him from the bitter cold. Such puny things won't affect him, he hadn't survived all these long years without hardening himself up..

_Ka Ka! Ka Ka!_

_No go!_

_Stay by Noiri-chan..?_

Kakuzu-san..

_I-I Like you.. Is it alright ..?_

Ahh.. He leaned back unto the wall, head meeting it's hard surface. It was that thought again, he looked out into the night sky, observing the twinkling lights which the stars proudly shone, the moon covering the entire ground with milky looking light, a few fireflies lazily flying dangerously low above the calm pond waters. In all fairness to the brat, it was not her he was angry at. It was just himself that he was mad at. He was mad for growing soft, mad at his gradual warmness towards the girl, mad at himself for slowly but surely trusting the child which would eventually break his heart into a million tiny fragments. He knew it would hurt, oh yes, he did. He had experience the same crushing feeling countless of times.

_Get.. Get away from me!_

_You monster!_

_I hate you!_

The mere fact that he in her company was already wrong. It was not alright for him to tolerate her childish antics and habits, it was even more so for him to actually _like _her company, like how she sat quietly beside him as he did the weekly accounts, how she seem to slip her small hand into his, how she always seem so eager to please him, how she clung to his cloak like a monkey from time to time, and how she seem to enjoy his company.

He was just lying to himself if he said he was not attached to the brat, he knew it in his very bones that he liked her. It was just a lie he constantly told himself to ease his heart. The thought of eventually separating from the kid pained him. He knew the time would eventually come, he was one extremely realistic person. He would always remind himself about that, and he would always remember that one thing.

The brat was going to _die._ And nothing he did was ever going to change it. He clenched his fist so hard it hurt, gritting his teeth so hard they burned. He had to stop this growing relationship, even if at the cost of his heart. It will hurt him, it will also hurt her, but.. It would be for the best..

Not that his heart mattered any more anyway, he had sold it long ago to the devil. Now, right where his precious organ was meant to be, lay an empty space, which the child had sneakily stole away from his grasp.

He closed his eyes, covering them from the dark world he lived in, wishing, if even for a moment, he could be free from this wretched place. A place where there was no war, no suffering, no lies, no disloyalty, no death, a place where his weary soul could, at last, be _free..._

_..oo0oo.._

It was almost six when Hinoiri woke with a start.

At first, she just sort of sat there and stared at her small clenched hands, feeling the smooth and cushy padding of her comforter, unsure of what was happening as she sat there stun and silent. Before remembering that it was finally the day she became a ninja.

"About time you woke up.." A familiar deep bass voice sounded from behind her, before she could even process the happiness and feelings of excitement which seem to bounce rapidly in her gut. She nearly had a heart attack when she saw a being sitting at the edge of a window, squeaking as she threw the covers over her head.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes, and swung his legs over to face the child. "It's just me, brat." He said. "Now get up. A ninja never sleeps after five thirty, nor do they sleep without at least one eye open." He tore her covers off her. "Get changing."

"Ohh.. G-Good morning, Kakuzu-San.." She squeaked, jumping out of bed as she ignored the cold which bit the soles of her feet. Immediately running to her drawers, Hinoiri hastily pulled out her outfit of the day and wore it as fast as she could, trying to forget the fact that the masked nin was staring unblinkingly at her. She had a little trouble with the sleeves, but nothing she couldn't handle, five years old meant that she was a big girl after all.

Kakuzu shook his head at her when she was finally done. "This won't do.." He eyed her bright blue sundress with disdain. "You can't be a ninja with clothes like this.. Take this." He threw her a small mesh shirt along with a pair of sweat pants, not caring if she caught them or not. "Meet me in the hall in five." His tone gave her no place for argument. Even so, she couldn't help but shake with excitement on the thought of learning something new.

Hinoiri arrived at the hall with seconds to spare, her shirt a little lopsided and hair tied into a messy ponytail, but she looked bright and ready as ever, jitteriness driving her to move.

Kakuzu looked at her, expression hidden by his mask, but from what little she could see of his face, the man wasn't really pleased. His eyebrows were knotted up and his lips most likely set into a tight line. Hinoiri looked at her feet, curling her toes against the floor, ashamed to meet his eyes.

"Stop acting like such a baby. You are a ninja today, and I expect you to act like one." Kakuzu chided firmly, tossing her an Onigiri. "Eat this on our way to the training grounds." With that, he left, leaving the child to follow quickly behind him.

"Kakuzu-San! Please wait!" She breathed out, running a few feet behind said person. The morning forest was dark as midnight and cold, dew hanging of the small blades of grass, wetting her shoes. In such conditions, she couldn't tell the difference between a tree and a rock, and her thin mesh shirt did nothing to block out the bitting cold.

"Time waits for no men." Kakuzu replied, not turning around to face his charge. He did not slow down his pace, continuing to charge ahead of the kid at a fast consistent pace. "Stop being so slow and hurry up!"

"I-I can't!" Hinoiri panted out. "You're too fast!"

Kakuzu growled, not caring even the slightest. "You're a ninja. And as I said earlier, you shall act like one. Shinobi don't complain and whine, if you think this is hard, I suggest that you just go back now!" He barked.

Hinoiri bit her lower lip, unsure on how to react. She looked down to the ground in obvious shame. Kakuzu was right, she did want to be a ninja, and Leader-sama never said that it would be easy. She couldn't be out down by such a measly thing, she just couldn't. Her resolve hardening by ten fold, the blue haired girl quicken up her steps to catch up to her mentor.

"Fight me." Kakuzu turned around to face the small child. They had arrived to a rather large clearing, one the size of a small village. Dotted with deep green trees older than the duo, along with the fluffy green grass which provided padding to any fallen Shinobi along with consistent water source from a near-by stream, the meadow was a perfect place to train.

The sun was just starting to peak over the hilly mountains, providing enough sunlight to see.

"W-What..?!" Hinoiri cocked her head to the side, confusion etched upon her face. She must have heard what he said wrongly..

Kakuzu got into a fighting stance, bending both legs as he extended his right hand forward into a familiar stance. "I'll say it again. Fight me." When she did not move, he attacked her, aiming for her heart.

Hinoiri barely avoided it, missing by a couple of centimetres She jumped back quickly, stumbling a little before promptly dodging another attack.

Kakuzu was completely serious about this. She frowned, getting into a clumsy fighting stance, and rushed forward unto her masked mentor, aiming a punch at his stomach.

He easily overstepped it, grabbing her hand and squeezed it so hard she thought it'll break, she let out a yelped, before aiming a low kick to her stomach. Hinoiri felt the air thrown out of her and took a couple of steps back, wheezing in pain as she clutched her stomach. Kakuzu was not done yet, with her momentarily stunned, he took her by surprised with another kick to her back, throwing her off her balance and to the ground, pinning her down with his foot on her back.

"This." He said, looking down at the small form below him. "Is the difference of strength between you and I. Even with less than five percent of my power, you still fail to last for even one minute. Your performance is just pathetic, and I am extremely disappointed by this." He paused for a moment, allowing the words to sink in. The ex-Taki nin dug his foot even deeper into the child's back, causing her to sink deeper into the ground. "That, though, is exactly why I will be training you from now on. I do not have the time to tolerate your petty little games, you will now act like a real Shinobi whenever in my class. Do you understand?"

The blue haired child curled her fingers tightly, tears of shame stinging her eyes, nodding. "Y-yes.. I am.."

Kakuzu pushed down harder, a gasp escaped from her mouth as he barked, "I can't hear you!"

"Yes, Kakuzu-San!"

"That's much better." He released her, and the kid quickly scrambled to her feet, wiping away her tears before she got even more of a scolding. "The training will begin now. We will start with a warm up first. As fast as you can, run around the field."

Without hesitation, Hinoiri tore off, heart pounding as her feet started to move as fast as they could. The field was large, and would probably take forever to finish it. Her lungs scream in protest as she took breath after breath of precious oxygen, heaving loudly.

When she finally reached Kakuzu, he motioned for her to run another lap, she almost collapse to her feet, but hid her surprised expression as she once again took off.

Lap after lap she ran, two slowly became four, which bled to six, soon, she didn't even know how many laps she had dragged herself through, her half-lidded eyes unfocused and her vision blurred, all she knew that she was running, running and running..

"Stop." Kakuzu's voice cut through like a knife into butter, holding his hand out to stop her from running any further. Hinoiri collapse to the floor, sweat beading her forehead, her heart pounding hard against her ribs, so loud she knew that even Kakuzu could hear them. She closed her tired eyes, enjoying the soft green grass below her, as she lied on her stomach.

"Hey," Kakuzu prodded her with his big toe. "Don't fall asleep, kid. That was only the start of your training." The five year-old groaned, taking her time to get up, trying her very best to pay no heed to her screaming muscles.

"You'll have to run even more than that if you ever want to be stronger, a raise in your speed would do you some good too, so get used to it. Now, I want you to punch my palms." Kakuzu said, raising both hands to her level as he crouched down. "Concentrate on building your muscle strength instead of the damage you deal. Pull your hand back to your hip and punch. Keep punching until I tell you to stop."

Hinoiri began to punch evenly and neatly, doing as Kakuzu had so said. As a strong taijutsu user, Kakuzu knew first hand on how to build up one's strength and the weakest points of the human body, along with such a long experience and strict teaching method, Kakuzu was probably the best teacher for Hinoiri.

"Keep your arms steady." Kakuzu snapped, sensing his little charge growing more and more unfocused. Hinoiri snapped out, and begun hitting with a little more force into his palms after that reprimand, concentrating on doing better.

"That's enough now." Kakuzu lowered his hands after seventy or so punches. "This should be enough physical exercise for the day. Now it's time for you to learn some ninjutsu." Hinoiri immediately perked up in excitement, looking brighter than she had ever been the whole day.

"Do you know what is needed to do jutsus?" The masked nin asked, she shook her head.

"You need chakra to do such. You know what chakra is, don't you?" The child shook her head once again. While it was useful that she was a blank piece of paper when it came to her skills, but training her from scratch sure was going to be pretty annoying on his thin patience.

Kakuzu showed her his hand, releasing a little chakra into it, a little blue fire flickered into existence on his fingertips. "This is chakra. Chakra is essential to even the most basic technique; it is the moulding of the physical energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience. Once moulded, it can be channelled through the chakra circulatory system, which is to chakra as the regular circulatory system is to blood, to any of the 361 chakra points, called tenketsu in the body. Through various methods, the most common of which is hand seals, chakra can then be manipulated to create an effect that would not be possible otherwise, such as walking on water, exhaling fire or creating illusions. But we won't be doing any of that today."

"Awww.." Hinoiri whined.

"You will be learning how to climb a tree instead. Without your hands." He added upon her incredulous look.

They walked to the Far East side of the field, and chose a large tree, trunk as wide as ten people standing side by side in a circle, it's bark was tan and rough after years of hard life. Kakuzu walked up the tree with no hesitation at all, gathering an even amount of chakra at both feet, one foot after another until he hung upside down.

"Close your eyes, and try to calm down. Focus on the energy within you. You should be able to feel it." He said. Hinoiri scrunched up her features for a moment, before smothering it back into a passive face. "That's right. Now focus that energy into your feet. Concentrate on evening it, not too much or little. Just nice."

Taking a deep breath and summoning all of her concentration, the blue-haired child took her first few hesitant steps forward on the tree, shaky at first, but the amount of chakra successfully allowed to stuck firmly to the tree. Violet eyes widening in surprise when she saw herself hanging sideways on the trunk.

"Kakuzu-San!" She squeaked excitedly. "I'm walking on the tree!" At that very moment, with her concentration broken, her chakra blurred, and she fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Don't lose focus. As a ninja, your undivided attention will be needed when on missions. Even the slightest loss of it can cost you your life on a mission."

Determined to follow his advice, Hinoiri nodded and once again faced the large tree, placing her foot on it's trunk. With her total concentration on the training, she succeeded going halfway up the tree. Feelings of joy and happiness lifted her up, the sparkle in her wide eyes reaching her smile.

Crack- The tree crunched. Her foot sunk into the bark, surprised by the outcome, she once again fell to the ground.

Kakuzu shook his head, and gave a long sigh. "I've told you to control the amount of chakra you've focus into each leg. You've placed too much into that foot. Measure it carefully. If the chakra is too weak, you won't stick at all. But if you put too much, the tree will be damaged and messed up with your chakra adhering."

"Alright.." She mumbled, giving the exercise another try. Who knew training would be this hard!?

For the rest of the training session, Kakuzu continued to make up climb up the tree till she managed to scale it to the topmost branch. By that time, with the sun at it's highest, The older guessed that it was nearing noon, and stopped the child from her training. They will revise on this again tomorrow before they went on to walking on water, he only start training her in jutsus when she achieve above-average chakra control. Taijutsu would need constant attention till she could raise her speed high enough to start agility training with Sasori. Her strength though, worried him. Even for a five year old, she had horrible strength, her muscles were too weak. Kakuzu hoped that wasn't anything genetic and a little training could do her better. Giving a glance at the small child on his shoulder, who had passed out from exhaustion on her first day of training, he smirked, she may be below average right now, but he'll change that into an above average Shinobi in just a few months..

Hinoiri's tough training was on everyday, even if it was raining a thunderstorm outside or hot enough to fry bacon on the ground. It always started with a few laps around the field, followed by some taijutsu exercise like punches and high kicks. A taijutsu specialist, Kakuzu insisted on her to kick high, claiming that at her short stature, it would benefit her greatly. After a fortnight, things had stabilize at last, and Kakuzu decided it would be best to put weights on her.

"Do I really need them?" Hinoiri whined to him, staggering under the five hundred grams apiece weights on her leg, it would take some time for her to get used to it.

"Yes. You have below average strength, and I want to take your speed to the fullest advantage instead. Now stop squirming as I put them on. You better get used to them, they'll increased another five hundred grams next month." Kakuzu chided her, fastening the weights firmly around her lower leg area, whacking her on the head lightly as she groaned.

Ninjutsu training, on the other hand was going on rather well. Mastering the walk on water technique in three days flat, Kakuzu had immediately pushed her on to the jutsus. Henge and replacement techniques posed not much of a problem,completed within a mere three days; shadow clone however, prove to be rather.. Troublesome..

The older had decided to train Hinoiri on how to perform shadow clones, instead of the usual clones. While the usual clone technique would be rather useful in confusing an enemy, shadow clone would provide her a better aid in battle, seeing how the usual clone jutsu couldn't attack the opponent and was just a mere illusion, and the fact that higher rank ninja could immediately spot the difference with their sharp eyes.

"Try harder!" Kakuzu snapped, a tic forming on his forehead. Hinoiri gulped, and brought her shaky fingers into the familiar cross sign. "Focus chakra into your hands, don't push too hard and just concentrate on making one copy."

"S-Shadow clone jut-jutsu!" A more dishevelled copy of Hinoiri appeared beside her, cream skin green along the edges, before disappearing with a poof. The real Hinoiri fell to the floor, panting loudly. Having to do the exact same jutsu for the past three weeks, she was just exhausted and frustrated at the lack of results.

"I can't do it. I don't know why. I just can't. The other jutsus came easily, Kakuzu-San. But this.. I just can't. It's like it's blocking my chakra system. It feels hard to breathe when I do it.." She curled into a tight ball, hiding her face from Kakuzu's. "S-sorry.. Kakuzu-San.. I just can't do it.."

Kakuzu said nothing, and turned away from her. The silence continued to stretch forth between them both, interrupted only by Hinoiri's occasional sobs. "You can't always expect to master skills without some trouble, there are always stumbling blocks. But it's the choice of giving up or continuing to strive forward which makes the difference." He turned towards her, jade eyes boring into her forehead. "The choice is yours to decide."

He walked away, leaving her alone to ponder on his words.

He was right. She was weak, helpless even. She couldn't do much, she was too powerless to do anything. And the worst part was that she just gave up after just a taste of hardship. She just threw away everything and cried as though she had been hurt badly.

She was stronger than this, she had to be stronger than this. To achieve her goal, to help Leader-sama in his goal for peace, to stop all that blood for flowing, that was her goal. And she was going to work for it, even at the cost of her life.

There were no more incidents after that, Hinoiri faithfully continued to train mercilessly under Kakuzu's watchful eye each day, refusing to give in to failure. At last, after one entire month, she was finally able to successfully conjure a splitting image of herself.

Kakuzu decides to take full advantage of her new found ability with clones by sparring with her each day. After a session of taijutsu and ninjutsu training, it would surely be followed by the daily spar between master and student, kicks and punches were exchange. The current score after a fortnight was Kakuzu fourteen and Hinoiri nil.

"Get your head in the game!" Kakuzu bark, sending her a kick which left her eating dust on the floor. She pushed herself up, carefully avoiding to more of Kakuzu's attacks and took a couple of cartwheels back when a clone came out with a jumping kick. She panted, and summoned another clone, hiding behind a tree as she hid her chakra signature. It was practically a living hell over there, and the fact that Kakuzu wasn't afraid to kill her had her quicker on her toes then ever before.

Wincing as another tree got chopped down, the child crouched into a tighter ball, immediately devising a battle strategy. Kakuzu was a tough opponent for sure, she hardly even laid a scratch on him, whilst the elder continued to pummel her. With his precision and strength in his attacks, the only thing keeping her barely alive was her speed, though barely.

She thought hard, she had to be fast, she could feel the clone's chakra running out fast now, it was only a matter of time before-

"Found you." A familiar voice said, she hopped backwards, getting into her basic battle stance before jumping to her left to avoid the subsequent punch. She felt her own clone disperse and bit her bottom lip, this was bad. Her chakra was already low now, and it'll be dangerous for her to use the clone jutsu again.

Kakuzu's leg met her stomach, and the child was instantly kicked right into a tree, an 'oomph' escaped a lips as she slid down and laid limply there like a rag doll, unmoving.

The masked nin quickly walked over, slightly worried that he had hit her too hard. "Kid. Oi, kid. Wake up." He gently slapped her face on both sides. His heart clenched in worry when she did not respond, blood frozing in his very veins as his heart raced at top speed. Konan was going to KILL him.

A fist extended and aimed for his forehead, but as a skilled ninja, the tan man easily blocked it with his arms. What he didn't see was Hinoiri suddenly pushing off and sweeping Kakuzu completely off his feet as he was distracted with the decoy punch. The older ninja avoided a mouth full of dirt by suddenly stopping his fall with his palms and back flipped into a half crouch. He gave a quick glance up at Hinoiri who had a leg extended out on the floor, panting loudly and looking visibly pleased with herself.

"You lack the strength of the normal Gennin, but I do admit you're sneaker than most. You used manipulation distraction and underestimation as a lack of finesse." He said, casually dusting off the dust on his cloak. "Good."

She stared at him wide-eyed, earning a sharp glare when she seemed unable to stop. She blinked a couple of times, pinching her hand even once to make sure it wasn't a dream. Kakuzu had just praised her. Her.

The blue haired child's face broke into a radiant smile, to which he growled at her in annoyance, grunting at her to get up and continue the spat. The beam never disappeared, much to his irritation, as she continued to avoid his attacks, occasionally exchanging punches and a trick or two. Throughout the rest of the spar, though, she didn't waver, even a bit.

He had complimented her.

She had never once been complemented by her mentor (though she received plenty of criticism). And did it make her feel good.

Kakuzu gave in to the smallest of smirks that began to form at the corner of his lips. She was well at Gennin level now, and soon, he'll make sure that she'll reach above average in no time flat, helping her to realize her full potential as a kunoichi.

_..oo0oo.._

"Twelve plus twelve, the son of a bitch is twenty four.. Saven.. S-seven plus four, the son of a bitch is eleven.." Hinoiri muttered, scribbling the said numbers down in a messy scrawl. "Hmm.. What's after thirty..?"

One five year-old Hinoiri was doing her maths homework (assign by Konan; she refused to let her general education slip) on the coffee table one cool evening, seated on her favourite blue chair, taking sips of water as she did so.

She nibbled the edge of her pencil, the weights tied to her feet preventing her from moving about as freely as she would have liked, mumbling to herself, using her fingers to aid her in her homework, "Eight plus five, that son of a bitch is plus six, that son of a bitch is sixteen..."

"Hinoiri! Have you did your work yet?" Konan yelled from the kitchen, where a slight burn smell was wafting out. She had burned the squid again.

"Yes, Mama!" The younger replied. "I'm doing it now! Three plus seventeen, the son of a bitch is twenty.."

It was just at that very moment when Konan had walked out from her 'domain' and heard what she was saying and gasped, unable to comprehend the fact that such vulgar words had just escaped the lips of her precious child.

"What are you doing?" She asked bewildered.

The little girl set her pencil down, and answered innocently, "I'm doing my maths homework, Mama."

And who taught you to do it?" the young mother asked, her fist turning really white.

"Kisame-San taught me that." she answered. "Did i say something wrong, Mama?" she cocked her head to one side, worry spreading across her features. She clutched the woman's cloak tightly. "M-Mama..?"

Infuriated, the mother ignored the child as she stormed out of the room to confront the ex-Kiri Nin, a dark thundercloud over her head, narrowly missing Shuryo on her way out.

"K-Konan-San! Are you alright?" He asked the storming lady. The look on her face she gave him terrified the young man. She hissed at him like as she were were a cat before proceeding to knock Kisame's door down.

"..W-what.. What did I-I do?!" He turned to his partner, sobbing. "USA-chan didn't even get to say hi..!"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "You know how women are, always so unpredictable." He sighed. "Thee she goes.." As a loud bang sounded rang through the hall followed by screaming.

Hinoiri latched herself unto the fair man's leg, pale and confused. "Shu! Is Mama okay?"

"I-I'm sure she's fine.." Shuryo said, patting her head awkwardly. "Now, shouldn't you be in the-"

"No, she's not." Kakuzu interrupted. "She's on her period."

Hinoiri stared at her mentor with large begging eyes. "What's a period?"

"It's when women become unstable hormone driven people and enjoy the displeasure of others." He told her, wagging a disapproving finger in her face. "You must never be like that."

"Is-is mama going to die?" Hinoiri squeaked, her death grip on Shuryo's leg tightening.

"Of c-course not.. Where did-"

"Of high blood pressure, then yes."

The child sat there, contemplating the words she had just been told. "Mama! I'm coming to save you!"

"Wait no- Noiri-chan! Urrgh! See what you did now, Kakuzu-San!" Shuryo whined.

"Get used to it." He grunted, covering his ears from Konan's shouts as he walked away.

"What are you teaching my child in maths " She screamed at the man, not caring at all that she had just bulldoze his door down. Kisame jumped, wondering what he had done to anger the fierce tigress when she grabbed him by the collar of his cloak. "Right now, we are learning addition." The kunoichi asked, "And are you teaching her to say two plus two, that son of a bitch is four?"

The blue man started to snigger, before bursting into full out laughter. Konan bristled in rage.

"Are you mocking me?" She said in such a dangerous voice it would scared a pride of lions, pieces of paper peeling of her body and positioned themselves as sharp arsenals near the man's head."Because I can make you hurt, really, really bad."

He raised both hands in surrender. "I didn't mean that."When he finally stopped laughing, he answered, "What I taught her was, two plus two, THE SUM OF Which, is four."

Blink. Blink.

Thud!

"Ow! Hey, don't just drop me like that!" The shark man complained, rubbing his sore behind. "Women.." He muttered, shaking his head.

"Are-are you serious..?" Konan groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose, a blush spreading across her face like wild fire. She stumbled back a bit, clutching her forehead. A sigh of annoyance emitted from her mouth as she slid to the floor. Trust her child to get those two letters mixed up. The ex-Kiri-Nin shook his head, chuckling lightly to himself. It wasn't everyday you got to see the stoic Konan act like that.

The blue haired woman peeked opened a bright amber eye. "Do me a favour, Kisame. Assure me that that's the only bad word she knows.."

Said person shrugged, dumping himself into a sitting position on his messy bed, which creaked loudly under his weight. "I hold no such promises.." Hastily masking his snickers into a lame cough when she shot him an annoyed look. If she knew that parenting would be this exhausting she would have been rather tempted to leave Hinoiri at the local orphanage all these years ago. Don't get the blue-haired woman wrong, she loved the child to bits, but sometimes.. She just wanted a less-stressful life, without worrying whether or not a rather impressionable child was running around the base, learning swear words left and right.

"Mama! Mama! Are you alright?" Speak of the devil. Hinoiri appeared next to her, clutching her arm tightly, as she wailed into her sleeve. "Don't go, Mama! You promise you won't go anywhere!" She sobbed into her sleeve.

"There, there.." Konan smiled slightly, patting her head. "I'm here, and everything's alright.. I think..." She added. Hinoiri remained silent, unsure on how to reply her mother as she sent the older a confused look.

"Ahem.." Kisame interrupted them, clearly not pleased by the fact that his door has been trodden down and had been forced to go through Konan's undeserving wrath. "Don't you have anything to say to me..?" He asked, Samahade in his hands.

The lady paled, and jumped up, giving a low bow, the blue haired child following likewise. "Sorry for the inconvenience.. And for accusing you." She said sheepishly.

"No offence taken.. Except for the door.."

The weird trio turned towards said door, and blanched. A flick of her fingers erected a thick solid wall of papers, which would probably sufficed as a door till she contacted Pein.

"Maybe I'll fix that later.. Bye, Kisame!" The kunoichi hastily waved good bye as she dragged the poor child out of the room. She motioned her head down to face the child. "Hinoiri, I don't ever want you to say that word again."

"Which word, Mama? Which, Sum or Bitch?

Konan's hand clamped over her lips. "The 'B' one. It's a bad word, used by bad girls."

_Parenting it's ups and downs._

"But why mama? I like saying it. It's funny." She pouted, sneaking her tiny palm into her's.

"Because.. Because.." Konan paused, and thought long and hard, as small fingers curled around her long ones. Finally, an idea arrived.

_Sometimes it was alright, and sometimes it was really a pain in the ass._

"Because it'll make you short. You don't want to be short, don't you?"

Satisfied by the answer, the child shook her head. "Oh, okay.. And mama?" Said the child, a serious expression forming on her face.

"What?" She sniffed the air, something smelt weird.. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was..

_But what made it special_

"Your squid is burning again."

"...Darn it.."

_Was the bond that was shared with no one but the mother and child._

_..oo0oo.._

It was night fall when Hinoiri sneaked out of the base, but that did not mean it was impossible to see not did it discourage her from venturing any further. On the contrary, the moon was full and glowing a pearlescent white, and she felt readier than ever to get going.

She quietly tiptoed to the doorway, avoiding all human-like shadows and voices, her ears wide opened to detect the faintest of sounds. Her small feet padded smoothly across the wooden floor boards, hardly a sound made. She almost tripped over her overly long pajama bottoms, stopping herself by gaining balance from a near by chair. Luckily, no sound was made. She heaved a sigh of relief, and continued her mission. She was lucky that most of the members weren't here that night, and it was only Kisame who was taking care of her, and the shark man was fast asleep at the current moment, she was free to do whatever she wanted. But she still had to be careful, one wrong move and her mission could be jeopardize. She glared down at her troublesome weights, it was their fault she had to move so slowly.

Eventually, she reached the doorway. Flexing her fingers as she took a deep breath, she had to be ready for opening the door without making a sound. It may seem very easy, but truth be told, the Akatsuki's sliding door was very, very loud, so Hinoiri had to be extra careful when handling it, especially now. Very slowly and with infinite carefulness, she placed a hand in the flat wooden panel, waiting for the acursed sliding door to crack open a hole large enough for her to squeeze through, all the while glancing back at the main hall, praying that Kisame had not heard her. She sucked in her stomach and squeezed past the hole into the Wild Outside World.

When she stepped foot outside, Hinoiri was mesmerized by the change that had fallen upon the sleeping forest. It never ceased to amaze her. At day, everything was a lovely refreshing green, as green as the emerald lake, flowers blooming left and right, colors bursting forth from within, woodland creatures scurried back forth, the small birds tweeting and singing in harmony as a few lazy clouds floated above the canopy of trees. But at night, it was like the forest brought that same bright blue sky down to the ground and gave the landscape a bluish tinge, everything seem to glow under the faint moonlight, and the soft chirping sounds of insects filled the air. The night air was clean and crisps, cooler than the coldest day she had ever went through. It was quiet, very quiet, though not the unnatural silence, but a more.. peaceful type.

As breathtaking as it was, the youth shook her head, forcing herself out of her trance. She had snuck out for a reason and she didn't want to waste it. With a sense of purpose, she strode through the familiar path she passed each morning, before ending up at her familiar training ground.

She took a deep breath, and got into her fighting stance. After nailing the basic katas, Kakuzu decided that his usual stiff firm style did not suit her the slightest. Instead, he thought her another style, one which almost reminded her of dancing. It required fast movement and strong kicks (hence the weights), and required plenty if agility and flexibility. It wasn't something that suited everyone, but Hinoiri liked it just fine.

She took a deep breath, and bowed down to her imaginary opponent. She had sneaked out tonight in order to train for an upcoming exam. She knew it was going to be tough, and at her current level, she was too weak to fight it head on. But if she started to secretly train at night, than maybe it would work.

She trained hard, nailing blow after blow on her imaginary opponent, whilst occasionally jumping back to avoid a 'hit'. Suddenly, she just stopped. She didn't know why she did, but deep down, she felt like it was pretty obvious. She was lonely. The child was lonely from time to time, she received plenty of attention, and she loved her family, but sometimes, she just wanted to have a friend. It was pretty lonely without someone her age after all.

Sweat beaded at her forehead fell to the ground in large drops, she sat on a near by boulder, pulling her knees up to her chin, it was her favourite sitting position, deciding to rest for a moment, resting her head on her knees, she began to think.

A smooth hand was suddenly clapped over her mouth and she would have been terrified if the voice that spoke near his ear wasn't one she recognize. "Boo."

The hand moved away from her mouth and she turned her head, eyes wide with surprise. "Shu?" She whispered. He smiled and nodded, a couple strands of white hair falling forward with the movement. "But... How did you see me coming here? I was careful.. And why aren't you still on your mission? Is Mama back too?"

Shuryo continued to smile as he spoke, ruffling the younger's sweaty hair."No, Konan's not back yet. I just saw you sneaking out when I was returning back to the base. Were you training again?"

Hinoiri sheepishly nodded. "You won't tell mama will you?" She asked worriedly. Mama didn't need anything more to worry about.

The older teen chuckled to himself, and nodded. "I'll keep this little night event something between us. It'll be our little secret." She immediately brighten up, Shu could always be trusted with things like that.

"Come here, Noiri-chan." He motioned for her to sit on his lap as he lay against the rock. Said child obliged to his wishes, though she did feel rather like a baby as she settled herself into the man's bosom. He smelled nice, even after such a long mission. The familiar smell of lemons invaded her nostrils as she took a deep breath in, another scent caught her attention too, it was most likely mint. Those two smells suited Shuryo pretty well, they were both fresh and energizing, like him.

Hinoiri snuggled deeper into his cloak, grabbing a fistful of fabric with one hand, her breathing evening out into smoother ones, eyelids dropping. Shuryo chuckled, as much as she would have to denied, Noiri-chan was still like a little baby on the inside.

He hummed a familiar lullaby he had heard during his early years in Kirigakure. It was by far his favourite, and he was sure that Hinoiri would like it too.

Akatsuki, the new dawn, and Hinoiri, the sunset of their lives. He wanted to laugh at how funny it was that both shared the sane urge for change. A fitting name, he supposed, staring at the twinkling stars above him.

The Akatsuki had really became more human ever since the little child wormed her way into their lives. It was weird at first, to see hardened criminals soften themselves around a child. It wasn't much, but the difference was still noticeable if you were observant enough. Which Shuryo could proudly claim that he was.

These changes were little, but they were there. To see how such a tiny thing could turn their lives upside down since the first day she started to live with them, Shuryo was willing and curious to see how big of a change would she bring for this organization.

And perhaps, she would teach them a thing or two on family.

_..oo0oo.._

There was blood everywhere; blood on the floor, blood on the ceiling, blood on the kunai that had just took a life, blood on the murderer's hands, blood on her face.

Blood. Blood blood blood. Everywhere.

Red, filthy, terrible, horrible blood. It was everywhere.

Hinoiri just stood there, unmoving, eyes large with terror, fear and hopelessness at the corpse before her, her stomach churning from all the blood. She stared down at her shaking hands with bulging wide eyes, there were blood on them too, the warmth still retained, oozing from her hands, staining them bright crimson.

Blood. It was everywhere..

Kakuzu-San.. K-Kakuzu-San killed the man!

Her hands flew to her head, clutching them tightly as she began to scream and scream till her throat hurt. Streams of tears flowed down her cheeks, unable to stop the constant flow. All she saw was red. She couldn't take the stress any more her legs felt like jelly as she fell to the floor and curled tightly, all the while head still clasp within her tiny hands.

"Take it all in." She heard Kakuzu murmur, poker face on. "Take it all in. This is what you'll be seeing once you become a ninja, it will be all you will ever see." She shivered uncontrollably for a moment longer, before breaking up into heart-wrenching sobs, scream piercing the cold air.

"No.. Stop it! No! No!" She screamed, "Stop it! I.. I don't want to see it any more.. No.!"

"Yes..." Kakuzu said softly, not batting an eyelid at the shivering figure on the floor. "Take it all in.."

The day had started out much more differently. It was a rather sunny day to begin with, the sky a wondrous forget-me-not blue, and the constant wind had provided more than enough for fellow members to keep cool under the bright sun.

"Bend your legs, you brat! Or do I have to knock you down again?!" Kakuzu yelled from across the field, watching her carefully as she laid a kick on his clone's chest, effectively knocking him back a little bit.

"Yes, Kakuzu-san!"

"Aim to knock him down, then immediately finish him off!"

She narrowly missed a kick to the head. "Why don't I get any weapons?" She jumped into the air, nailing both clones on the head with a kick. "It's not fair."

"Life is never fair, brat."

Hinoiri bristled in annoyance, clicking her tongue and gave a huff. "I'm not a-" She was interrupted by a punch that went sailing through her ear, quick as thought, she jumped into the near by bushes and hid her chakra signature.

Kakuzu's training had definitely got harder over the past two years. She not only had to rely on her unsatisfactory (Kakuzu's standard was just too high) skill, but also on her instinct and senses. In a way, the training was good as it did improve her less-then-sensitive hearing, but the downside was that she'll return each day feeling as though she had been ploughing through a field all day long. Plus the fact that Kakuzu wasn't the type to go easy on kids made everything worse. She had planned to use that to her advantage, along with trickery, but ever since her first sparring session with the older nin, he had never once let his guard down. It was just downright impossible to outsmart him.

"Found you." The familiar low bass voice said behind her. She turned, and almost immediately a strong fist slammed into her face, knocking her a few feet back,out into the open, away from the safety of the bushes.

"Eck!" Hinoiri spat, trying to remove what dirt particles which had stuck to her tongue. She coughed a few times, before widening her eyes, the familiar cold blade of a kunai was pressed firmly against her throat. The man had finally caught her.

"Times up. You've lost." To his surprised, Hinoiri smirked, and burst into a cloud of smoke.

A shadow clone? Well, he thought, getting ready for an attack. He should have expected this, it was her fighting style after all.

A rustle. Ten degrees south from here. A blur of blue shot past him, he easily sidestepped her, and grabbed the figures small frame, giving her a good jab in the stomach, powerful enough to cause the kid to spit a mouthful of blood out. He grabbed her by her elbow, and Todd her as if she were a rag doll unto the ground.

"After all the time I've placed into you, I expected more than this." Scolded Kakuzu. Hinoiri scowled, wiping of the tiny stream of blood of her chin, rubbing her aching body. "Time is money. And you," he pointed an accusing finger at her, "have been wasting plenty of my time, which means I've just wasted a fortune on you. Do you have a single idea on how much that is? Do you?" Hinoiri said nothing, lowering her head, wincing with each bitter word her 'sensei' threw at her direction. She was too ashamed and afraid to retort back. Stray bangs framed her face limply by her side, shielding her from his hurtful glare. A few tears sprung up in her eyes, she blinked, desperately trying to blink them away. She had failed, she had miss the mark, she had disappointed her family.

Kakuzu knelt down to her level, tilting her chin upwards so that she'll face him. Her inwardly sighed when he saw a few stray tears rolling down her face. Hardening his resolve, he continued. "This was suppose to be your last test, to see if you'll qualify to train under Sasori. But, it turns out you're not." He rapped her on her forehead lightly, clicking his tongue in disapproval. "Kunoichi don't cry." She sniffled, and covered her face with both hands.

"..Sorry, Kakuzu-San." Came a muffled answer.

Said man sighed for the hundredth time that day, shaking his head. He never really wanted to go through this, but Leader-sama's word was law, and to disobey him meant a certain death penalty that Kakuzu wasn't eager to face.

"There is one more test I want you to take.. Meet me here at two'o clock sharp tomorrow. Then we'll see if you're ready to become a ninja." He steeled his heart, ignoring the worry gnawing on his stomach, feelings hidden behind an emotionless façade. He didn't know if she could take what was coming up in this test..

He thought.. They had all thought that she'll be able to retain her innocence, for at least, a brief moment in her childhood, her keep her youth till adulthood was reached, but even so, all good things must come to an end.

It was the next day, when

The world was cruel.

So dark, and so.. So pain.

It was hard to breathe.

Every second, living in a world like this..

Made hell seem like a better alternative.

Kakuzu may not seem any different as he led a rather happy Hinoiri to the underground basement, but on the inside, his stomach was doing a couple of belly flops. He felt like slapping himself a couple of times in the face. How was he, Kakuzu of Takigakure, the one who fought against the Shodai Hokage, worried about whether or not a puny child past some stupid test?! It was just pathetic. He shouldn't have bothered coming to this stupid place, or even teaching her for that fact! He doubt that she would have the heart to go on being a ninja after seeing this.. He gruffly pulled opened the heavy steel door, motioned the kid in before slamming it with more force than required.

"This way down, brat.." He growled, stopping her before she wandered off to another room. Just one dead body was enough for her, he really didn't need to deal with the nightmares she'll have when she saw the other more mutated bodies. He wasn't worried that she'll hear any of their screams though, they had sound proof doors and walls to keep the noises out, even then, the prisoners had stopped screaming weeks ago..

They finally reached their destination, Kakuzu ushered the now-nervous child in, rolling his eyes at how she attempted to grab his hand. He slid it out of her reach before she could. Hadn't she learn it already by now? That he didn't like people touching him? He turned away from her crestfallen face, telling himself to keep going on, there was no turning back now.

"Stop here." He said, pausing in his steps. They had entered a rather dark and smelly room, the cold temperature made her feel rather uneasy. A figure sprawled against the wall in one corner, chest heaving up and down. He felt Hinoiri creep closer to him, gripping his leg with both hands at the sight of the disfigured figure. She whimpered and hid her face in his dark cloak. The masked man grumbled, and shook her out.

"I-Is it time to go already..?" The figure croaked, voice sounding as dry as dried leaves, slowly getting up. He had the look of a mad man on his face, with dishevelled hair and bleary eyes, skin looking as though it had not seen sunlight in years. His clothes were in tatters, and smelled like a dustbin. So many scars covered the man's once muscular body, but he was all skin and bones now. He stumbled over to the duo, face etching into a horrified expression when he caught the red clouds on Kakuzu's black cloak.

"No.. No.." He mumbled, shaking his head, looking like a deer surrounded by wolves. "No.. this can't be happening! No! Stop!" He screamed, retreating into the corner. Loud rasping gasps echoed through the dingy cell, each sounding louder than the last. Kakuzu calmly strode up to him, a kunai appearing in his hand.

"I'm afraid your time is up." He didn't sound very sorry, nor did he feel any. He just felt plain old disgust at the pitiful person before him, on his knees as he begged for mercy. He clicked his tongue, not amused. Here was a supposed A-rank ninja, one of the strongest in his village, and looked how _worthless _before death. Kakuzu himself had known for a long time, that even despite his immortal body, he will and surely die. The masked man placed the weapon near the shivering man's throat, ignoring the fact that the man had just relieved himself out of fear, urine pooling around their feet.

"Please! I'm begging you! Don't do it! Please!" He screamed, trying to force Kakuzu's hand away, but the dark-skinned man had a death grip. Hinoiri watched in horror at the scene before her, eyes growing larger and larger as she just stood there, eyes glued onto the poor man.

Kakuzu.. Kakuzu was going to kill him! He was really going to kill him! That thought ran through her mind a thousand, a million times, each time it repeated itself, it sounded even worse, as though death itself was whispering into her ear.

Her blood froze, her heart cease from pumping precious blood all over her body. It was as if time had stop for the man before her to enjoy his final moments.

"Stop!" She yelled, running towards the two men, but she was just too slow. Kakuzu had slit the man's throat as easily as slicing a piece of meat, not a single look of remorse on his cold face. Hinoiri stopped in her steps, blood spraying onto her, and for the first time, saw her mentor in a different light.

He was a monster. The man was begging on his knees for mercy, and he just killed him. Like that.

She felt sick.

The feeling of warm blood sliding down her cheeks stunned the child. She looked down at her clothes, they were also stained an ugly red. Her legs began to shiver, a few involuntary years beginning to well up in her eyes. She had heard of death plenty of times, but to see someone just.. Dying in front of her was a whole new feeling. She wanted to hide from that fact, that how death could strike anyone at any time but now, that illusion was gone, leaving her to cope with a harsh reality.

Her wide eyes caught a glimpse of the dead man's empty soulless ones, his chest no longer rising, heart no longer beating. But it was his eyes that scared her the most. They were filled with emotion just minutes ago, despair, hopelessness, sadness, and now, he was dead. Like a fallen rag doll, no more than a puppet with it's strings cut off. It was just too much, just too much for a young mind to handle.

She fell to her knees, screaming so loud it hurt her throat. The blood of the corpse pooled around her. She sobbed, finding each breath more and more horrible to take in. She just wanted it to end. Her eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the corpse lying just meters in front of her. How lifeless that person seemed to be, it scared her, to know how fragile life was.

Hinoiri shivered, seeing the blood on her hands, the unfamiliar metallic taste invading her taste buds. All she saw was red blood, oozing slowly, bead by bead from the man's throat, before exploding into a blood bath, painting the dark floor crimson.

Her finger nails dug into her head, so hard that she felt them carved themselves into her skull. Her hair pulled on so tightly she thought that they'll be ripped off. The unwilling tears she had just moments ago started to pour our like miniature waterfalls, falling to the ground. She sobbed, taking in large breaths, before breaking down once again. She fell sideways and curled into a ball, pleading for the pain in her heart to stop. Oh, just let it stop. Stop the blood, please.. Stop it..

She screamed, and screamed and screamed, till she could scream no more, till she lacked the breath and energy to do so. She just laid there, unable to do anything else than to sob and begged to take that scene away from her memories. Kakuzu watched her coolly from the place he stood, hand never letting go of the bloody kunai.

"You've seen death now." He started, tossing the bloody kunai at her, missing her face by inches. "Take a good long look at yourself and that man. This is the life of a ninja, it is nothing to what you'll see in the future. A life like this will bring only death and destruction." Hinoiri kept silent, she stared at her reflection. It was her, yet it wasn't her at the same time. That person couldn't be her! She didn't have that wild look in her eyes nor those blood stained face! It couldn't be her!

"If you can't handle the death around you," Kakuzu said, turning around to leave. "I suggest you quit it now. This is only the first test, what lies ahead is far worse than what you're seeing now. You have one day to tell me your answer." And with that, the door slammed shut, and Hinoiri was left alone to think about her choice.

_..oo0oo.._

"So she has finally seen death now, eh?" Madara asked from his seat on the window sill. "It's about time now any way. Our plan has to start soon, and I'm sure you know what to do to her if she refuses to become a kunoichi, do you, Pein?"

The ginger haired leader, rested his chin on one open palm, meeting Madara's gaze evenly with his own ringed ones. "Yes, I do."

Over in the shadows, Konan frowned. The kunoichi wished that she could be there, next to Hinoiri when she saw _that_, but she knew this was one of the things Hinoiri will have to do on her own.

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**I'm glad I've finally finished this chapter! It was hard to write due to my writer's block and the fact that a procrastinate a lot when it comes to work. :p Even so, I still like to thank everyone who has ticked by my story so far for your loyalty. All of you deserve a much better author than I. *Sobs* The fact that MilesXOlivier has popped into my life makes everything worse, THEY ARE JUST SO EPIC! I ship them so bad it hurts.**

**13k+ words.. Less than my average but I'm just too tired to care right now..**

**This chapter was meant to be about Hinoiri's training with Kakuzu, Kisame, and Sasori, along with their test. but sadly, if I were to do that, this would have probably came out a month later. Sighs.**

**Next Chapter: Hinoiri has reached the crossroad of her life, and death starts knocking on her door.**

**Read and Review~ They make me happy. :D**


	6. Childhood III

**Author's notes: Long wait, I know. But thankfully, I'm done with my exams. **

**Thanks and cakes to xBUzzOFF15x, DevilTito, akasukifangirl, GEMfaerie, TheAkatsukisPet, Izaranna, AlbinoBunny1, cupcakebunny220, cloverserene and Akatsuki freak 911 for their reviews, Favs and alerts!  
**

**Special thanks to akatsukifangirl for being such a dear and reviewing every single chapter at a go! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Random fact #3: The original title of this story was Akatsuki's child. Tell me in your reviews if you had actually come across it before! :)**

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_Sasori-San.._

_Kakuzu-San.._

_Kisame-San.._

_Shu.._

_..M-Mama.._

_I'm.. I'm sorry.._

_That I wasn't strong enough._

_That I wasn't good enough._

_That I wasn't what you had hoped for._

_That I wasn't what you all expected to be._

_That I was a failure since the beginning._

_That I couldn't accomplish what you wanted me to do._

_Sasori-San, I'm sorry that I never got to have you as my mentor._

_Kakuzu-San, I'm sorry that I disappointed you as a student._

_Kisame-San, I'm sorry we never got to go to the beach together._

_Shu, I'm sorry that I never got to spar with you._

_And.. Mama.. I'm sorry, that I made you cry.._

_I'm sorry, everyone.._

_That I can't stand the blood.._

_That I can't stand death.._

_I'm sorry.._

_..oo0oo.._

"..that was a close one. It's a good thing that she was breathing when I found her." The cool feeling of something smooth prodded her forearm, slowly caressing her. "There are no internal or external injuries, from what I can tell."

"Yeah.. I guess so... Thank God," Long fingers brushed her hair away from her forehead, before tracing the purple rectangle on the left side of her cheek, their warmth seeping against her pasty skin. She unconsciously moved towards it.

"..You shouldn't take it out on Kakuzu-San, j'you know. It wasn't exactly his idea to do this.." The former's voice rang, along with the shuffling of feet and clicking sounds of glass being laid on the table.

"I do know.. But.. It's just that seeing her like this, it just makes me want to ask him why would he do such a thing. She's just a child!"

"I agree with you. It's not very fair for her to go through this.. But, Konan-San, please don't be too hard on Kakuzu-San, he's only doing what's best.."

"..Shuryo.."

Hinoiri creaked opened her eyes, wincing at the bright light, head throbbing. As her eyes slowly adjusted themselves, she looked around the room, absorbing what was in it. Even with her limited eyesight, one thing was for sure was that it was white. White walls, white bed sheets, white blankets, white was the only present colour in the room. She groaned softly, turning around as her legs got caught in the long covers, the faint smell of antiseptic lingering on the tip of her nose. She sneeze, the strong medical smell made her head seem even heavier than before, and tried to scratch her nose, but her arms just couldn't seem to move.

"Hinoiri!"

"Noiri-chan!"

Arms threw themselves around her small frame, and for the first time, colours burst into her life, each a blur splat against the bland background. Her eyes widened significantly, stunned by how warm the human body was.

It was so warm..

"..M-Mama.. Shu.." Hinoiri whimpered, tears stinging her eyes. It was warm, so very warm, the feeling of her mother's body. Unlike the cold body of that corpse.

She was alive, Mama was alive, Shu was alive..

But the man was dead.

His empty eyes flashed past her, his soulless gaze as he lay dead on the floor, the endless pool of blood flowing everywhere, his poor soul long dead and gone.

_Don't kill me! Please, NO!_

He was dead.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead..

"Ma..Mama.." Small fingers intertwined themselves around Konan's cloak, gripping them firmly. Hinoiri whimpered, her breath quickening as her heartbeat raced, before bursting into tears.

"M-mama!" She cried, tears overflowing, hugging Konan's body closer towards her, as though it was her lifeline. "M..M-Mama! Mama! Make it.. Make it stop!" Sobbed the child. She scream into the older's shoulder blade, taking in occasional choppy breaths, barely registering anything except for the man's haunting gaze and his final pleading words.

Konan sat there, stunned, unsure what to do as the child cried. She felt a wave of emotions swell through her being, each covering the other, making it impossible to react. She felt angry; the sobbing child in front of her was never like this, never. She was always so happy, at peace. Her smile hardly ever left her face, laughter always coming so easily. The joyful face and light giggles were slowly replaced by what looked like someone who went through too much. She felt fear; The look was so demented, and it was one Konan recognize very well, it was the one Nagato had when Yahiko died, it was that same look of despair. The same hopelessness, sadness, anger.. She felt helpless; this young girl was probably going through one of the most life changing experience ever in her short life, and here was she, her mother, unable to do anything but stare. Konan hugged the blue haired girl closer towards her, squeezing her eyes shut, praying that everything won't go too wrong. She was a murderer, liar, killer.. But yet.. She still had a heart, and she will do whatever she could to prevent anyone to go through what she had to go through.

Even then.. Hinoiri had to go through that experience to..

Had she.. Had she lost her childhood already..?

Was she going to lose her..? Along with everything else she had..?

"Shh.. Don't cry.. It's alright, everything is fine now.. Shh.." Konan whispered into the younger's ear, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She was lying, she knew. It was not alright, nothing was fine now, she was just lying to herself in hopes that everything will be better. But life wasn't like that, it never was, nor will it ever be.

Hinoiri's cries soon soften into tiny whimpers, but the grip on her cloak never loosen. No matter how much Shuryo or her pulled, Hinoiri continued to clung as though she was her lifeline. The sobs worsen to a state where even hiccups started, her eyes became all red and puffy from all the tears, mucus overflowing, the kunoichi had never seen the child in such a state, and that worried her. Nothing was said and for what seem like hours, she just sat at the side of the bed, whispering calm reassuring words as she stroke Hinoiri's head. Members like Kisame visited the girl, offering little more than a sad smile and some corny jokes to lighten up the atmosphere; while ninjas like Sasori merely looked at the child with a blank mask. Kakuzu didn't show up at all, which Konan thought was a good thing, because she would have some trouble withholding her rage when their paths crossed.

Shuryo stayed with her the entire time, occasionally leaving the room to fetch the woman a cup of water or attempt to brighten up both mother and daughter and hurrying around to straightened things up in a way to ease himself, sometimes saying the most random of things to ease his own worry heart. Konan felt sorry for him, here was a man with all the energy in the world, being cooped up in a tiny room which smelled like medicine when he should be outside frolicking or whatever. She did try to smile and act better when he was around, though, it would not be fair if he had to deal with two sad women.

It didn't work, it looked too strained for it to look natural.

Everything was wrong, and everything could go wrong.

She should have remembered that.

_..oo0oo.._

The white haired man sighed, exiting the overly clean room after being politely kicked out by Konan, who kept on insisting that they would be fine, and something about him needing fresh air and whatnot. He shook his head, a spring in his step as she skipped into the kitchen, can't she not see that he was fine? It wouldn't hurt him to stay indoors for a while. Sure, he may be unwilling to seat down for more than an hour, but if it was for Konan-San and Noiri-chan, he would gladly sit for twelve hours straight!

He did a back flip upon his entry into the bright and warm kitchen, nodding in agreement that he was still as fit as ever. The man froze for a fraction of a second when he saw his partner seated on the kitchen island, furiously scribbling some mathematical equations into a once blank piece of paper, occasionally nipping the tip of the pen as he calculated the latest invoice. Upon realizing his partner's entrance, Kakuzu smoothly raised an eyebrow at him, Shuryo immediately regained his composure, smiling at the older as a sign of greeting with a cheeky wave.

"Hey there, Kakuzu-San! Pretty day outside isn't it?" He chirped, bounding over to the pantry door and threw it open, considered his choices of food, before deciding on a box of mochi to munch on. His sweet tooth has been screaming for this. Kakuzu ignored his greeting, and continued to stare at him sceptically behind his mask. Shuryo sat himself next to the man, smiling happily as he blabbed on and on about his old village, USA-chan tucked neatly between his knees.

"..It's usually cold there during this time of the year, not to mention misty. There's not much food during these times so we usually have to save up; the rain never stops too, it goes on and on and on. Sometimes it becomes so bad that we have to evacuate to higher ground, then we'll compete and see who manages to count the highest amount of dead chickens. Sweet food is pretty hard to get by during the rainy season, so I always had to-"

"Stop acting so cheerful, Shuryo." Kakuzu cut him across, setting his pen down and turned to the younger male.

Shuryo screwed his face in confusion, struggled to swallow the rather big mochi he had just stuff in his mouth. "What do you mean, Kakuzu-San?" He asked.

Kakuzu shot a glare at him. "That" he jabbed Shuryo's chest with his index finger, "is what I'm talking about. Acting as though everything is alright and lovely in spring land or some shit. I hate that about you. You're angry about what I did, but yet you pretend to like me in order to get my guard down to strike me from behind, don't you, Shuryo? Don't you?!"

Said boy just sat there, uncertain on how to react to his partner's claim. Kakuzu was upset, he could tell. Staying by his side for months taught him that, to stay quick on his toes and get ready to jump back when the elder got angry. It was a nifty skill, reading the emotion of other's. But what the elder said, it was true. That he was angry. Scratch that, he was furious. It just wasn't fair for Hinoiri to go through the same childhood all of them had to go through, to go through the same horrible pain they had to bear.

"Fine. I admit. I am angry." He said, giving out a long sigh after a minute long staring contest with the elder. "But," he added, giving Kakuzu a sharp look, "I won't take it out on you."

Kakuzu's fist banged the kitchen island, shaking the many contents on it."Even after what I've done to the runt? Why don't you just get mad and we can then just sort it out through fighting? That's the problem with you, Shuryo, you never had the balls to fight anyone!"

"What I want?" He gave a mirthless laugh. "Isn't that what you want? To fight? I'm sorry, Kakuzu-san, but I just can't let that happen. You aren't angry at me, or Hinoiri, or anyone. You're mad at yourself, you're mad that you actually give a crap about her. That's why," said Shuryo, smiling the unfamiliar sad smile that rarely graced his pale features, "I can't get angry at you, because I know that whatever hurtful you do, you don't do it intentionally."

"Bullshit." The Taki-Nin spat at the Kiri-Nin's face. He contorted his face in nothing short of pure rage.

"Take it however you want Kakuzu-San. But just remember, that you still have a heart, even if you do not seem to feel it any more-"

Kakuzu's fist shot out from the retreat on the clean kitchen top, surprising the white haired man, who immediately, on reflex, jumped off his seat, promptly avoiding it.

"Shut up. Don't you dare act like you know me. You know nothing about me, nothing!" Hissed the masked Nin, outstretched hand shaking in fury.

Shuryo said nothing, as he reached forth to grabbed his stuff rabbit and the few remaining mochi, refusing to meet his partner's hateful glare, and walked towards the door, muttering a soft excuse me as he did.

"Don't let pain rule your life, Kakuzu." Shuryo said from the doorway, the usual glee in his voice was replaced with an emotionless flat tone, which followed with him stalking off.

Said man growled, slamming his fist once again on the kitchen top, knocking off a jar of spices, it tumbled and broke, sweet herbs spewing from it. But he didn't care, not even the slightest. A few ticks formed on his forehead, hands clenched together so tightly that it hurt his nails, teeth gritted as he tried to prevent himself from doing anything more. He picked up the fallen pen with a shaking hand, trying his very best to concentrate on his work.

Shuryo was right. He wasn't mad at anyone. He was mad at himself. He was mad for putting himself in this position, mad for actually giving a damn about the brat, mad that he was for sure going to get hurt once again for the millionth time. He wanted to fight Shuryo, to show that he was still superior, to prove that evil people still existed out there, and that nothing was ever going to change. The world had always been the same, until the kid popped into his bleak life, that was when he started getting confuse. She saw what no one ever saw in him, wanted his company when other's shunned him, and accepted him as a fellow human being. The pen in his hand snapped evenly in half, his head dropping down to meet the island top, brain whirling around to find a solution to this strange world. That's why he liked Maths, because unlike real life, as long as you followed the regulations and principles, the answer was to be obtain for sure. Life wasn't like this, there were things that would never have an answer, things that would never be solved.

Remembering the haunted look the child had when she first saw death, he knew that it wasn't long before she finally did crack. He recognize that face, he saw it many times before, and had once even wore it himself. She would choose the road to a 'peaceful' life, and undoubtedly find death at Leader-sama's hand. After that, he would finally get his plain old child-free lifestyle back. He thought savagely, getting back into the lawful world of mathematical works.

And everything would go back to normal.

He would be strong, he would take it and go on.

Even if it ends up hurting him the most.

_..oo0oo.._

Konan stood by Pein's side, looking nervous as ever as Kakuzu stood unblinking just a few feet away in front of them, the wild feeling gnawing fiercely on her weak stomach. It had been like this for the entire morning, since she woke up eight hours ago. She fumbled with the hem of her long sleeve, smothering whatever creases were on her black cloak, eyeing her childhood friend from the corner of her wide amber eyes. Nothing was given away from his usual emotionless face, staring at the door like a hungry wolf.

Though it had been just a mere short twenty-four hours, it felt like a long eternity to the blue haired female. The hour had at last come, the day where Hinoiri's fate would be decided, whether death or life would be her ultimate destination would all be base down to the choice she took.

She had wished that this day would not have come so fast, prayed for it to be delayed, hope that it might have not arrived at all, waking up and discovering that all of this has just been a dream all this time, that Hinoiri was going to be alright in the end, with everything being safe and sound.

The door creaked opened, and the small figure which she had grew to love so much crept into the dark room, shuffling across the cool floorboards, standing in the middle of the room as all gazes fixed themselves upon her.

"So, child." Pein started, observing the tiny girl before him. "What will be your choice? To accept being a ninja, despite the death of other's all around you, or give up on your goal to a peaceful world?"

Total silence crept into the room, spinning web after web of chilly quietness until the entire area was covered with silk. Hinoiri's voice broke the works with a swipe of her soft voice.

"I.. I don't want to be a ninja any more, sir." She stuttered out, looking away from his scary ringed eyes and directed them towards the floor.

Pein leaned forward a little, "Are you very sure, child?"

"..Yes, I am."

"Are you certain of this?" Kakuzu looked away, closing his eyes as though it would block out whatever horrible thing which would happen.

"I am." The youth said, firmer this time. Konan felt her breath hitched, heartbeat growing faster and faster.

"I see.. Very well." Pein said, looking down from the kid and continued his paperwork. Hinoiri blinked, expecting more of a reaction than that. It was a bit funny considering how serious he was about this, as though she could die-

A gasp escaped from the Konan's full lips, Kakuzu staring at her as if she had grown an extra head, and her vision was filled with nothing but orange and black. It was too fast for Hinoiri to fathomed.

"Hinoiri! Hinoiri!" Konan screamed.

What was wrong? why was mama so panicked? She felt normal, fine even. Except that her side felt rather hot… what was that? She looked down to try and figure out the cause, and all she saw was a fountain of blood and a protruding kunai from her stomach. Quite a lot of blood, actually. Was that… was that her's..?

A soft sound of surprise escaped her mouth, eyes bulging and as the realisation grabbed him that she was injured she began to feel the pain. It crept up on her slowly, unstoppably, growing worse until she could hardly breathe, everything single thing she did hurt her like hell. She spat out some blood, watching in horror as it splat against the floor.

Was she.. Was she going to die..?

Like that man..?

She let out a strangled scream, and slowly, her knees buckled, and she fell head first to the ground.

Pein released her, pulling his hand back as he calmly observe the child which fell to the ground like a fallen rag doll. His expression remained the same as he stood there, uncaring that a young kid was dying right in front of him. He had seen too much death in his life to actually give a damn any more.

Konan didn't remember doing anything else, she just forsake her post and rushed forward, cradling the injured girl in her hands as she begged her to respond, desperately trying to save her. Why, oh why hadn't she thought of this? She should have stopped them while she still could have! It was all her fault! She shook the dying child, trying her best to save what looked like a lost case.

"Hinoiri..! Don't die, Hinoiri!" She said, voice growing more and more frantic as said child's eyes began to close, body growing limp, a few streams of blood flew down her open mouth. Konan wiped them away, not caring if her hands got stained.

"M..mama.." Hinoiri croaked, so soft that she had to strain her ears to hear.

"Y-yes..?" The elder answered, stroking her messy hair as blood pooled around them. She brought the child closer to her, praying to every single deity she knew to help them.

"..I love you." The younger said, lips twitching into a familiar small smile.

Moisture creeping to the corners of her amber orbs, Konan smiled too, trying her very best to look happy. "I love you too.." She replied, blinking furiously, grasping Hinoiri's hand tightly.

"That's.. Nice.." She murmured. She grabbed Konan's cloak tightly with her small fist, and faced her with half-lidded eyes. "..It's cold.. Mama.. Cold.. So.. Cold.." She stopped in mid sentence, her hand fell limply back onto her lap, eyes dimmed, the ghost of her final smile etched across her face.

Realization hit her like a baseball, those words were the child's final words, it registered into her brain, along with the familiar creepy feeling of a unmoving body in her arms, cold spreading throughout it. The unblinking stare that she had witness so many times. No, it can't be..!

"Hinoiri..? Hinoiri! Hinoiri!" The kunoichi's cries sounded, and the pain of loss which she knew so well had fallen on her once again. Tears pricking the corner of her eyes, she hugged the dead body tightly, sadness overwhelming her, as a luring blanket of darkness covered her entire world.

_..oo0oo.._

For hours, darkness surrounded her, suffocating her like a strait jacket.

She could not remember anything, or anyone. All she knew was that she was just floating and floating in an endless sea of ink. Pain crept into her heart, piercing through it like a sharp blade.

It hurt so bad..

Why..? Why did this have to happen again? Why?

Had God not punished her enough already? Hadn't she lost almost everything that held importance to her?

Why..? Just why?

Konan woke with a start.

She jerked forward, nearly falling from her seat, a blanket that someone had threw over her lay crumpled on the floor. She felt horrible, with what felt like a mild fever coming up and a headache throbbing against her skull, her hands and feet shivered against the cold tiled floor. She sneezed, hugging herself, before turning towards the small room's only window.

It had turned rather dark outside, sunlight already leaving the navy blue sky with stars scattered across it's vast canvas, covered by only a few puffs of fluffy clouds which floated peacefully. Hints of pink and violet painted the tips of the faraway mountains in smooth even strokes, occasionally followed by patches of fading red and orange. A few black birds flew across like neat kites, accompanied by soft chirping noises which was added onto the yowls and howls of the forest creatures, insects began to spring out from their hidy holes along with a few nocturnal animals, basking the forest with low hums of their chatter. A blast of the roaring wind foretold of what looked like a coming storm in the days to past, but for now, all was at peace.

A rustle from her left. "M-Mama..? Is that you?" That familiar voice, could it be..?

Slowly, Konan tore her gaze away from the lovely scenery outside, the sweet voice of the dead child ringing against her ear drums. She turned and after what felt like a century later, came face to face with a very much alive Hinoiri lying on a hospital bed.

"Mama..?" She cocked her head to one side, and tried to get up when Konan did not respond and merely sat there with her mouth agape in shock.

All this time, it had just been a dream.

Just a dream. Just another nightmare.

Thank God. Thank God..

Without hesitation, the kunoichi threw her arms around the child's small frame, not caring about anything else that existed, as though the entire world has just been constricted to their small bubble, anything else outside it did not exist. Nothing mattered anymore, it did not mean much at all, she thought, ruffling the messy blue locks of hair as tears sprang up from her amber eyes, smiling and laughing, all that she cared now was that Hinoiri was alright and whatever that had just happened was nothing more than a nightmare.

The feeling of relief spread through her entire body, warmth comforting her after an icy dream, much like a cup of tea on a cold day. She hugged the child closer towards her, afraid to lose her again, thanking every single deity she knew that Hinoiri was alive.

"Mama..? Mama! What's wrong mama?" The rough feeling of someone shaking her shoulder got her out of her trance, moisture which were not there before filled her eyes, her hands gripping the child's body firmly. She met Hinoiri's worried face, and smiled reassuringly, wiping off a few stray tears from the corner of her eyes.

"Don't worry, Hinoiri. It's nothing.. It's nothing.." she brushed said youngster's blue hair back, smilling softly. "Just-Just promise me that you'll be alright.."

"P..Promise you?"

"Promise me." Konan lifted her pinky.

The unfamiliar feeling of droplets fell on her cheek, warm and freshly shed. The child looked up, and saw fresh tears sprouting at the corner of her elder's eyes. She had no idea of what was happening now. Her mother was crying. Konan was crying. And strong ninjas don't cry. Crying was for the weak, mama wasn't weak. Mama is strong.

Even so, why she crying? Ninjas never cry, especially Konan.

Hinoiri attempted to release herself from Konan's grasp, wriggling her way through the thick covers. "..You need help, mama. I'll.. I'll get Shu.."

"No..!" The kunoichi shouted out of the sudden, Hinoiri winced as she gripped her forearms. "No.. Don't go.. I can't lose you.. Please.."

"..Mama.."

"Promise me, Hinoiri. Promise me now.."

Hinoiri curled her pinky around Konan's, nodding. "I won't go anywhere, Mama. I promise."

Konan didn't say anything, but rested her head on the crook of the child's shoulder, a hollow smile spreading across her flush face, the remaining tears landing on her shoulder blade, slowly waiting for her vision to tip black.

"Stay by me.." she murmured so soft that only strained ears could hear.

Hinoiri fingered the few fallen strands of blue hair, her mother's breath gradually going slow and deep. It was strange how the world works. Normally, she would be the one being consoled, comforted, the one who needed support and a guide; but this time, she would have to stand strong for Konan, it was not a choice, she had to, she must. For the woman who had sacrifice so much for her sake, she would do anything to help Konan. She would stand high and firm like a pillar. The one who believed that everything would be alright, to the end..

That was the first and last time she would ever see Konan cry..

_..oo0oo.._

"You shouldn't be out alone, Noiri-chan. It's dangerous, j'you know."

Hinoiri spun back, and came face to face with a freshly showered Shuryo, donning nothing but a loose white sweat shirt and baggy pants, loose hair limply framing the sides of his face. He held a cup of milk in one hand and some assorted box of cookies under an arm. He smiled cheekily at her. She relaxed and loosen her hands, before turning back to face the rising sun.

"Oh, it's just you, Shu.."

Shuryo raised an eye brow, and placed a hand on her head. "Eh..? What's up with the long face? Don't tell me you're having girl problems already?!"

"No! It's not that!" She flushed a deep red. "..I'm fine, Shu.." she said, refusing to meet his gaze as she shook his hand off. Said man narrowed his eyes and promptly frowned, settling himself cross legged next to her on the porch.

"If that's so, you shouldn't stay outside alone. There are plenty of dangerous stuff out here. And anything could happen to a kid like yourself." he waved a finger of disapproval at her before popping open the box of cookies.

Hinoiri shot him a glare, which looked more like a pout than anything. "I'm a ninja. I will be alright."

"Ninjas can't beat everything, j'you know. They have weaknesses too." Shuryo managed to gruff out, nibbling on a cookie. "Want one?"

"That's not true!" Hinoiri burst out, and slapped the cookie away. "I hate sweets! I hate.. sweets.." A gaze trailed to the fallen biscuit and she blushed furiously as she then tried to control herself. "Sorry.."

He waved her off, as if it hardly mattered. "Oh, yes, it is. Everyone has a weakness, whether you like it or not." He said, sipping his milk.

"But that's not right!" The child cried out, jumping in front of him. It was obvious that she was conflicted, as someone who had been trained not to show weakness since youth would have been."Ninjas must not have weaknesses or they will fall! That's why people die, because they are too weak to help themselves!"

Ah, that again.. Shuryo's hollow smile appeared on his face. "What if I told you, that it is alright to have a weakness." He smirked, tapping her nose like how he used to do when she was younger. She wrinkled her nose, and scooted further away from him, sending him another glare which probably did more good than the harm they were intended to do. When she said nothing, he continued.

"Nobody can be truly strong or without a fault. Everyone has their short coming. But it's only those who are willing to acknowledge this weakness of their's that become true ninja.." She stared at him in confusion. "Tell me, Hinoiri. Why did you become a ninja?"

She hesitated for a moment, unsure on what to say, but she decided to sit down next to him, allowing her feet to hang off, her soles touching the young grass below."I-I didn't want to see anyone else get hurt any more.. I thought being a ninja would stop all these things, I thought that.. Perhaps, no one would get hurt anymore.. But it's not true at all." She clenched her fist. "Why must we hurt other's? Why do we have to fight? Can't we just live in peace? Why, Shu? Why?"

Shuryo said nothing for a moment, and looked up into the blue sky. A sky so blue that it was hateful after what they had went through. So mockingly pretty as though all the pain they went through did not matter..

"While there are ninjas in this world" he started. "there will be death, sorrow, pain. There is no easy way to achieve anything. Everything requires hard work. Perhaps one day, we will achieve peace. But that day is still far off. Even so, it's still a wish, a hope. That is the Akatsuki's goal. Besides, I think that if you pour your all into something and hope for the best, then the end result can't be too bad."

Hinoiri sat thoughtfully for a moment, "I guess you're right, Shu.."

Shuryo grinned brightly."I'm always right, Noiri-chan. Of you ever have any problems, just come to me." he proudly jabbed a finger at himself.

Hinoiri gave a small laugh, before turning serious again. "There is one question I have.." When Shuryo motioned her to continue, she took a deep breath and asked,

"Aren't you.. Aren't you ever afraid of blood? Or when you see a dead person, Shu?"

"..Well.. I used to be.." He scratched the back of his head. "But then I thought, to gain something, something of equal importance had to be sacrificed.."

The younger questioned further."But all the people you killed, what about their families..? Or their love ones? Or their-" Shuryo cut her across.

"It's either you be killed or they be killed. Imagine, Hinoiri. If they are not got rid off, people may continue to die, death will continue to spread and they may eventually even kill your live ones. The loss of a few lives may eventually save a thousand."

She shook her head in dismay. "So you're saying it's either we kill them, or they kill us? That's not right! It won't be fair! What about their hopes, their love ones? Don't they have anything important? Why does it have to be like this? Why can't people just stay at home and mind their own business?" The grip on her shirt tighten considerably till the point where her fist turned white, hands shaking so much that she could barely control them.

The white haired man placed a firm hand on her shoulder, shaking it gently. "Get a hold of yourself, Hinoiri. Don't fall just yet." He pushed her hair back, ruffling them up. "Listen, the men we are often force to murder are man condemn to the deepest depths of hell. They don't understand plenty of things that normal people do. And many of them have done plenty of evil things to deserve such a cruel end.. The ninja world is never right, and it is never fair. But can we change anything about it now? No, we can't. But through hard work and determination we will change it." He gave her a weak smile, as though he was trying to convince himself about that too. "I know.. I know I can't stop you from making your choice, but of you are really determine to reach your goal, you know what to do."

The pair sat in silence after that, each deep in their own thoughts. Words were left unspoken, but the thoughts which were sent across were definitely received. The choice was there, but it was a matter or whether you'll take it or not, to receive or reject. Hope could only be received by those who refuse to give up; even with the world burning all around them, the firm hope of that green shoot emerging from the ash will be there, those who keep believing that eventually, some day, the sun will shine, and the darkness will finally be over..

The white haired man got up and swept the items along wit him in a blur, "I have to go now.." he said as he hesitated ever so slightly before he handed her another cookie. "Here, take one. I know you like them." He grinned mischievously.

This time, Hinoiri took it, her hand no longer shaking, and she sent the older male a soft smile. "Thanks, Shu.." _For everything._

_..oo0oo.._

_Love._

_A word so easily said._

_But so hard to practice._

_To protect what you have._

_To live for them whom you love._

_The will to live._

_The will to do just about anything._

_Was influence by that simple word._

_..oo0oo.._

"I've-I've already made my decision, Leader-sama." Hinoiri said, fumbling in her seat, the quiver in her voice did not go unnoticed by the russet haired man. He strummed his fingers against his desk, bored eyes staring deep into her soul.

"Is that so, child..? So then, what shall your answer be?" He rested his cheek on the palm of his hand, the familiar handle of a kunai slid into his hand, cool metal against his bare skin. The shaking voice was one he was rather familiar with, at her rejection, he would strike and kill her, thus ending her life.

Konan turned away, unable to watch any more, taking deep calming breaths to ease herself, feelings welling up inside of her. Fear, sadness, despair; all these feelings she had been familiar since youth and up, and she couldn't bear it if she had to experience it again. She should have been there to help her, to stand for her, and here she was, hiding like a coward, to afraid to face a child whose end was eminent.

Hinoiri took a deep gulp, eyes scanning the room for other more familiar people. There was Konan, whose face was hidden in the shadows, there was Kakuzu standing at the corner of the room, refusing to meet her pleading eye. She felt her heart ache slightly, but nonetheless steeled her voice on.

"I.. I would like to continue training to be a ninja, sir.." She blurted out, heart drumming hard against her chest. For the first time since she met him, Pein looked at her with a new kind of interest in his eyes, one that she had not seen before. She nervously turned from his gaze.

He cleared his throat, and sat straighter to get a better look of the child before him, the reminding feeling of the kunai pressed against his hand. "Are you sure about this? The path of a ninja will cause you to see even more horrors which would make yesterday's seem insignificant."

"I'm certain, sir" She said firmly, despite being rather unnerved by his unblinking stare.

A flash of confusion passed Pein's normally blank expression, which he immediately placed a mask over. "I'm asking this for the last time, are you sure you want to continue being a ninja, despite all the death which surrounds the job?" He brought the sharp weapon closer to him as the atmosphere in the room soon became so thick it was hard to breathe properly.

"My answer will be the same no matter how many times you ask," The youngster quickly added "sir."

He stared at her a while longer, allowing the building tension to slowly dissolve. Konan could not believe her ears. She was going to continue to be a ninja, she was going to live.. She had survived..

"Very well then." Pein finally continued for after what seem like an eternity, slowly stacking a few of the files scattered across on his table into a neat bundle. "You have past the first test." A wave of relief spread through Konan's being.

Her features scrunched up in confusion. "What-" He interrupted her in mid-speech.

"Two days from now, you'll be sent to train under a new teacher in the land of lightning. I suggest you pack carefully, it is rather cold during the winter season." Losing all interest in her, he kept the kunai and boredly began to look through a few forms which needed his attention.

Hinoiri swallowed the rush of words she was going to say, organizing her messed up thoughts, training with Kakuzu had thought her to think with a calm mind. "How long would I be gone?" She questioned further.

"For about two years, give or take." She felt her heart sink. Two years in the land of lightning, away from her family, away from her home? How was she going to survive?

"..Who will be my teacher sir?"

An evil smirk dark enough to kill flowers formed across his face, which was thankfully hidden behind the shadows. "Sasori."

For a split of a second, Hinoiri's heart stopped. "Sa-Sasori..-san?" She asked. She did not remember the strange man much, the only thoughts which flew into her mind were puppets depressing ninja, and filthy homes.

"Is-Is that all, sir..?" She hoped it was, another answer like this would probably stop her heart for real.

Thankfully, fate was kind with her that day, and had decided she had receive enough unpleasant surprises. "That is all, you may now leave." He nodded to her. Hinoiri gladly jumped of her chair, bowed lowly and walked out of the dark room, eager to face sunlight, Kakuzu following her after a curt bow to the Akatsuki leader.

"_What do you think you're doing?_" Kakuzu hissed after they were a good length away from the door. "Don't you know what you've just done?"

"I've.. decided to become a ninja..? Is that wrong..?" She said hesitantly.

"You idiot! You could have gone free! You didn't have to stay here any more! You won't have to stain your hands by killing other's! You could have just walked away freely, yet you still chose to be a murderer! God damn it!" The older shouted, slamming his hand against a window, ignoring the piercing shards the stuck to his hands like glue, the pain biting his flesh as blood dripped out. Even so, it didn't matter, because Kakuzu just ranted on.

"You could have left this forsaken hell hole, you could left us, you could have had a better life out there! But you just _had _to continue being a Shinobi? Doesn't it scare you on what we have to do? Don't the things we do scare you at all? Don't _we _scare you? Don't _I_ scare you?" He roared at the flinching child, before repeatedly punching the wall next to him. His bones screamed in pain, his muscles burned, his brained begged him to stop. The previous glass shards dug further into his knuckles. But his heart kept going on, punching and punching till there was nothing left..

He heard nothing, he saw nothing, he felt nothing. A sea of rage washed over him, painting his vision a dark bloody red, causing the masked nin to forget who he was, what he was, and every important thing to him. The impact of each hit caused dust to fly everywhere, debris occasionally hitting him back.

"Kakuzu-san!" The small warmth of two arms held his back, he pushed whatever it was away, roaring like a bear as he landed attack after attack on the wall. Kakuzu.. Kakuzu.. Who was that person..? What was that name? Why did it sound so familiar..? He thought, the sharp pain gnawing hungrily on his heart as he shook away every ounce of anger he had in his heart.

"_Kakuzu-san! _Please.. stop!" The feeling was stronger this time, the grip far tighter as skinny arms snaked their way around his torso, barely enough to even cover half of it. Even when he growled and tried his best to shake the thing off, it hung on like an annoying bug waiting to be squash. Kakuzu-san.. Kakuzu-san, it screamed, why was it doing this..? The answer was close, but for some reason, the Taki Nin couldn't figure out what it was. Each time the words was said, he felt a nagging feeling in his gut, some sort of sense which told his to just stop, but he couldn't, he couldn't, not yet..

"Kakuzu-san! Kakuzu-san! _Kakuzu-san!_" The final shout woke him from his craze, his conscience finally clear, with said man pausing in mid-punch. He brought his hands closer to him, shaking and numb from the pain, covered in bruises. A sob sounded, and he slowly turned behind, to see a small form tugging his shirt as it knelt on the floor.

"..Don't be angry any more.. Please.. Kakuzu-san.. Don't be.." Hinoiri whimpered, tightening her grasp on his shirt, refusing to let go.

"Kid.." He murmured, unsure what to do. Slowly, he carefully removed her fingers from the fabric and squatted down to her level. The child immediately hugged him, burying her head into his shoulder.

"Aren't you.. Aren't you afraid of me, even after all of this?" He asked her. He had asked her the same question plenty of times, each time more serious than the rest. Since youth and up, he had always asked her that question, and until this day the answer remained the same.

Hinoiri shook her head. "Kakuzu-san is Kakuzu-san.." She whispered softly into his ear, "Nothing is going to change that." She hugged him closer.

Kakuzu said nothing, and for the first time, he did not pushed away, nor did he questioned her words.

_..oo0oo.._

"You packed enough clothes?" Konan asked.

Hinoiri nodded. "Yes, mama."

"Your supplies? And what about your rations? You'll need the food, you know."

"Yes, mama. I've got it." Hinoiri patted the side pocket of the big travel bag on her shoulders.

"How about your-"

"I've packed everything up, mama." She assured her. Even so, Konan was still not satisfied.

"Okay. Just remember to write back about anything that happens. If Sasori treats you too harsh, you have to tell me. Watch out for anything dangerous and please don't agree to anything Orochimaru offers." Konan pinched the bridge of her nose. "What is Nagato thinking, sending you so far? You're much to young to come here alone!" She exclaimed.

"Don't worry, mama. Everything will be fine." Hinoiri smiled and slipped her hand into her's. It was still so small, though definitely much stronger now.

Konan felt the corners of her lips twitched upwards, and placed a hand on the child's blue head. "Yes, yes. I'm worrying too much aren't I?"

"I guess so." The child replied after a few thoughts. Konan's sad smile widen and she ruffled the long locks which grew more and more messy each day was now tied back into a neat pony tail.

"It's-It's just that you'll be grown up so soon that I don't know how to react. It's was like it was just yesterday I could fit you under one arm and-"

"Ma-Mama!" Hinoiri burst out in embarrassment, turning pink around the cheeks, and covered her face. Konan chuckled, before noticing from the corner of her eye a stone building a little far off, a red head standing just next to it.

"Ah, we are now here." Konan stopped, the sad smile sliding off her face, her hand grew limp as it fell to her side. She could no longer pass from here on and Hinoiri would have to go by herself. "I guess we would have to part here." Konan released her hand and took a couple steps back.

"Huh? No! Wait, Mama! Mama!" Realization dawn upon her as Hinoiri realized what was happening. She reached out an outstretched hand towards the woman, but had it missed by inches. She didn't want to be separated so fast from her mother. Her whole live had been revolving around this one single person, and to be torn apart from her was just so.. cruel..

"Be strong, Hinoiri.." Konan's words rang through her head, the familiar pricks of moisture in her eyes stopped as she hastily wiped them away, nodding furiously as she did. Sasori nodded in acknowledgement to the blue haired woman when he appeared behind the child.

"Take care.. Alright?" She nodded again, ignoring the figure behind her who tried to steer her away from her mother. She pushed his firm hand away, wanting to spend her last moments with the older in peace.

"Remember.. Remember that I'm always there for you!" Konan told her. Hinoiri nodded, burning the image of Konan deep into her mind as she waved exuberantly at Konan, who waved back too.

"I love you, mama." She said, her last final words to Konan.

"I.. I love you to.." Was the woman's reply.

That was the last they had ever spoke of for another two years..

_..oo0oo.._

**Alright then! We are finally done with the chapter! **

**As always, this was suppose to be Sasori's part of the story, but it was too long and really much too hard to write, so it's separated into two parts. Less than 10k+ words, but I guess that should be sufficient for the time being, shouldn't it?**

**Just recently, I drew a picture of Shuryo and Hinoiri, if interested, I'll post it on deviantart, but let me hear what you guys think about it first.**

**The next update won't be too far away (I hope), as long as you guys give me your feedback! :D**

**Next chapter: As Sasori shows her the ropes around, Hinoiri learns that sometimes, it was better to be alone.**

**R&R**


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